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Mauritian law makes school attendance compulsory until the end of the academic year in which a child turns 16, and there is no published process for approving home education.
This guide covers what the Education Act says, how the Mauritian school system works, how private candidates sit Cambridge and Pearson exams through the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate, costs, and university entry.
The law requires school attendance, not just education, and it has no homeschooling provision. We found no ministry process for approving home education.
| Law | What it says |
|---|---|
| Education Act 1957, section 37(1) | Every child who reaches the age for admission to primary school must attend a primary school |
| Education Act 1957, section 37(2) | School attendance is compulsory for every child until the end of the academic year in which they turn 16 |
| Education Act 1957, section 37(3) | A responsible party who, without reasonable cause, refuses or neglects to make the child attend school regularly commits an offence, punishable by a fine of up to Rs 10,000 and imprisonment of up to 2 years |
The Act doesn't define reasonable cause, and it has no exemption for foreign residents or for online schools based abroad. Claims online that expatriate families are exempt, or that the ministry routinely authorises home education, don't appear in the law or in any published ministry guidance.
If you live in Mauritius and want to educate your child outside a registered school, ask the Ministry of Education for its position in writing and take local legal advice before you withdraw your child.
Basic education runs for nine years, followed by Cambridge-based secondary certificates set with the Mauritius Examinations Syndicate (MES).
| Qualification | When | How private candidates enter | At CambriLearn |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary School Achievement Certificate (PSAC) | End of Grade 6 | Taken at school | Not offered |
| National Certificate of Education (NCE) | End of Grade 9 | Taken at school | Not offered |
| Cambridge School Certificate (SC), built on Cambridge O Level | End of Grade 11 | Enter Cambridge GCE O Level through the MES | We teach International GCSE rather than O Level, so compare syllabus codes |
| Higher School Certificate (HSC), built on Cambridge International AS and A Level | End of Grade 13 | Enter Cambridge GCE A Level through the MES | Taught on the International British Curriculum |
| Pearson Edexcel International GCSE and A Level | Equivalent to Grades 11 and 13 | Enter through the MES, which publishes a notice for each series | Taught on the Pearson Edexcel pathway |
| American High School Diploma | High school | Assessed online by Score Academy Online, a Cognia-accredited school | Through sister school Score Academy Online on the US K-12 pathway |
The MES publishes entry instructions, subject lists and fees for private candidates in each Cambridge series, and its notice for the October and November 2026 series went up in March. It also runs Pearson Edexcel exams, including the January 2027 International A Level series.
The MES lists Cambridge O Level subjects for private candidates. A student taught on International GCSE syllabuses should compare the syllabus codes before entering, or take Pearson Edexcel International GCSEs instead.
