How Countries Used PISA to Improve Education

What an Average Performance Would Look Like

For Mauritius. 5-6% real GDP growth, a stable currency of Rs25/USD and progressive taxation. Energy costs sensitive to decreases and increases in international prices. Unemployment brought down to 6-7% once it is measured properly. Underemployment heading south too. Savings reverting to average pre-Shaitanomics levels of 25%. Productive investments encouraged. Speculative investments discouraged. Reducing national frustration with some basic policies. Like proclaiming beaches as public spaces. Not deproclaiming any beaches. Preserving the views of Mauritius. Waging total war against diabetes. Not doing anything blatantly stupid like signing TISA. That too behind our backs.

And what would an economic miracle look like? I guess lowering the retirement age to 55 or less. Definitely a surging currency: a good start would be an average 2% annual appreciation against the USD from the base above. Along with higher growth rates. Plus an infinite number of thoughtful little things.

Miracle not happening for sure. In fact an average performance looks increasingly out of reach. There's too much ambient stupidity. But that can be reduced. Like by releasing the water sector reform report of the World Bank. For a start.

Drop The Lemon Tart

Air Asia Drops a Paradise, Adds Another One

Guess you heard they are pulling out for Mauritius. After only four months. Wonder why and how it is related to other recent airspace decisions. It's a loss for Mauritius as they offered interesting links to Asia at prices that partly made up for the continuous slaughtering of our currency. But they don't look too worried. They've just opened up a route to our sister paradise in the Pacific.

And of course proportional representation (PR) has created another huge mess in Rodrigues. A very comfortable majority of 10-2 for the OPR has melted into a regional government that will be a lot weaker. This of course comes right after the mess of 2012 when the wish of the voters ended up being frustrated with the same PR seats. What we saw on Monday was kind of expected wasn't it? Just like having mutating 'experts' in electoral reform put their hairdryer into high gear to try to confuse us with jargon they don't understand very well. Besides it was kind of obvious that the Duval Committee was on shaky grounds. And we know PR will produce unstable governments. After unstable governments. But did we have to use Rodrigues as a guinea pig? And that too for 5 years running?

Bourdain Treats Obama To Bun Cha in Vietnam

Enjoyed it? Now find out why you shouldn't order fish in a restaurant on Monday nights.

Aret Kokin Nu Laplaz Pas Lor TF1

Tiek sa. Zot ena osi zot kanal YouTube. Pran kont.

MGI Bags Four HSC Laureates

Quite a performance. Which is one more than CSE. But five less than RCC. The QEC powerhouse had a terrible harvest this year: only eight. The other nice thing is that 'small' colleges had their champs too. Some probably for the first time. Including College Ste Marie a mixed college just like the MGI. Hopefully policy-makers will look at this data carefully and update their policies.

Anyway here's the list.