NICE programme to be piloted in November 2026

The National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) programme, under the aegis of the Prime Minister’s Office and geared towards helping young people develop a sense of patriotism, live peacefully with others, show respect, and become responsible and disciplined citizens, will be launched on a pilot basis in November 2026.

Some 200 Grade 8 students, 100 boys and 100 girls aged 12 to 13 years, will thus participate, from 16 to 28 November 2026, in the two-week national programme based on a hybrid structure of one-week non-residential and one-week residential activities. Several Ministries are collaborating in the project while sponsorship is being provided by the private sector.

For the non-residential activities, participants will attend one of the four zone training centres namely Sodnac State Secondary School, Droopnath Ramphul State College, John Kennedy College, and Sookdeo Bissoondoyal State College. In the second week, activities will be conducted in mixed-gender groups while residential base camps will be set up at Pointe Jérôme Youth Training Centre for girls, and at the Coast Guard Training School in Le Chaland for boys.

In that context, a three-day Train-the-Leaders workshop kicked off this morning, at the Police Training School in Beau Bassin. During the workshop, the Singaporean consultant, Mr Ong Boon Hwee, and other facilitators will empower some 20 resource persons from the Ministry of Education and Human Resource, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and other key stakeholders to prepare them to better imbibe the NICE programme’s goals, apply its methods, and lead their teams with one shared vision.

In her address, at the opening ceremony of the workshop, the Secretary for Home Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office, Mrs Kan Oye Fong Weng-Poorun, deemed the NICE programme as an investment in the young people, in citizenship, in social cohesion and in Mauritius itself. “I rely on you to make the programme worthy of that ambition,” she told participants.

According to Mrs Fong Weng-Poorun, part of the success of the programme would rest upon the trainers who would have the responsibility to bring the programme and the information to the children as well as guide, accompany and support them. “You will be the one to translate the NICE programme from paper to experience, and the quality of delivery will depend on how well you understand the components, expected standards and the responsibility that come with working with young people,” she said to them.

For his part, the Singaporean consultant, Mr Ong Boon Hwee, gave a presentation on the intent and goals of the NICE pilot programme structures along with its features, overview, and approach. He stated that the programme was based on six main intents. These are:

National Education aimed at building a sense of national belonging, rootedness and patriotism;

Character Building whose objective is to instil a sense of purpose, a positive outlook and a strong alignment with the country’s core values;

Community, geared towards creating a platform for forging shared experience, harmony and common action;

Preparedness, to develop the practical skills of participants to respond to crises and natural disasters;

Resilience which intends to strengthen the ruggedness, resolve and an adventurous spirit in young Mauritians; and

Bonding aimed at building a shared experience among cohorts of young people.

The opening ceremony was followed by a press conference to present the NICE pilot programme to the media for dissemination.

16 September 2026

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Topics: Education, Youth