Education in Mauritius is managed by the Ministry of Education & Human Resources, which controls the development and administration of state schools funded by government, but also has an advisory and supervisory role in respect of private schools. The Tertiary education is maintained by the Ministry of Tertiary Education, Science, Research and Technology. The government of Mauritius provides free education to its citizens from pre-primary to tertiary levels. Since July 2005, the government also introduced free transport for all students. Schooling is compulsory up to the age of 16. Mauritian students consistently rank top in the world each year for the Cambridge International O Level, International A and AS level examinations. Among sub-Saharan African countries, Mauritius has one of the highest literacy rates. According to The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency as of 2018, 91.3% of the population age 15 and over can read and write in Mauritius were respectively literate. History After the country became independent in 1968, education became one of the main preoccupations of the Mauritian Government to meet the new challenges awaiting the country. Considerable investment of resources, both human and material, has been put into the Education sector and impressive progress has been achieved in terms of free, universal, compulsory primary education, free secondary education and a fairly wide range of higher education courses at the University of Mauritius. Textbooks for students of Grades 1 to 9 have been free since 2020. Education has been free through the secondary level since 1976 and through the post-secondary level since 1988. The government has made an effort to provide adequate funding for education, occasionally straining tight budgets and even subsidised a great part of the expenditure in the Private Confessional schools, that is, schools under the control of the Catholic Church. However, the pre-primary schools are still privately owned mostly. Overview The Ministry of Education and Human Resources supervises and monitors all actions related to the support to be provided to education. The Mauritius Qualification Authority is the regulator of the technical and vocational education and training sector. The Tertiary education is maintained by the Ministry of Tertiary Education, Science, Research and Technology. The Tertiary Education Commission has the responsibility for allocating public funds, and fostering, planning and coordinating the development of post-secondary education and training, its strategic plan envisages Mauritius as a regional knowledge hub and a centre for higher learning and excellence. It promotes