Annual Report 2015

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Annual Report 2015 ANNUAL REPORT 2015 For the period 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015 Open University of Mauritius ANNUAL REPORT 2015 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL The Honourable Minister of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research 2nd Floor MITD House PHOENIX Honourable Minister I have the honour of submitting the report of activities of the Open University of Mauritius for the period 1 January 2015–31 December 2015. Yours faithfully Mr R Duva Pentiah CSK Chairperson Open University of Mauritius 3 Open University of Mauritius ANNUAL REPORT 2015 CORPORATE INFORMATION Chairperson Mr R Duva Pentiah CSK Director-General Dr Kaviraj Sharma SUKON POSTAL and PHYSICAL ADDRESS Réduit Mauritius POSTAL CODE 80835 TELEPHONE 403 8200 FAX 464 8854 WEBSITE www.open.ac.mu BANKER State Bank of Mauritius LEGAL ADVISER Solicitor General’s Office 4 Open University of Mauritius ANNUAL REPORT 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAIRPERSON’S PREFACE......................................................................................................... 6 DIRECTOR-GENERAL’S FOREWORD ..................................................................................... 7 ACHIEVEMENTS 2015 ................................................................................................................ 9 CORPORATE PROFILE ................................................................................................................. 13 • Vision................................................................................................................................. 13 • Mission.............................................................................................................................. 13 • Values................................................................................................................................ 14 FIVE YEARS’ STRATEGIC PLAN 2015-2019 HIGHLIGHTS................................................ 15 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE REPORT.................................................................................... 21 • Compliances and Enforcement.................................................................................. 21 • Board of Directors (Roles & Responsibilities)...................................................... 21 • Functions and Powers of Board ............................................................................... 21 • Composition of the Board of Directors.................................................................. 22 • Statutory Committees of the Board......................................................................... 25 • Directors’ Remuneration ............................................................................................. 35 • Public Procurement Policies and Procedures...................................................... 39 INTERNAL AUDIT........................................................................................................................... 41 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ................................................................................ 41 SAFETY AND HEALTH ISSUES................................................................................................... 42 MANAGEMENT TEAM................................................................................................................. 44 STATEMENT OF DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES.............................................................. 46 DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT FOR INTERNAL CONTROL...................................................... 47 REPORT ON OUTCOMES AND OUTPUTS............................................................................ 48 • Human Resources Unit................................................................................................. 48 • Marketing & Public Relations (MPR) Unit............................................................. 55 • Academic Affairs Division............................................................................................ 59 • Admissions Office........................................................................................................... 62 • Student Affairs Unit........................................................................................................ 64 • Open School...................................................................................................................... 66 • Examinations Unit........................................................................................................... 69 • Library.................................................................................................................................. 70 • Graphics, Publishing and Printing............................................................................. 72 • Information Technology.............................................................................................. 76 • Engineering and Technology Services.................................................................... 78 • Audio-Visual Production.............................................................................................. 79 ORGANISATION CHART AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2015....................................................... 80 REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF AUDIT.................................................................................. 83 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2015................. 87 5 Open University of Mauritius ANNUAL REPORT 2015 CHAIRPERSON’S PREFACE The first meeting of the newly set up Board was held on 24 July 2015. The Open University of Mauritius (OU) has achieved a lot since its establishment in 2012 and is one among the few parastatal organisations that generate a significant amount of funds. The new Board is firmly steering OU to new heights and one of the guiding principles of the new Board is the rigorous application of accountability standards in its various operations. One of the major challenges was to address the shortage of staff. The senior positions that were vacant have been advertised, and the Board is endeavouring to fill the key positions at the earliest. The filling of other posts in the hierarchy as well as promotional posts for existing staff is also on the agenda. During the past five months, the Board has developed policies in a variety of areas to uphold good governance. A few examples are: (i) the recruitment of part-time lecturers, freelancers and trainees on placement; (ii) the preparation of manuals to ensure best practices in Human Resource, Finance, Procurement and Stores procedures; and (iii) a policy on scholarships to be awarded by the university, among others. OU is faring well within a very short period of time and the Board sincerely believes that the University can play an important role in taking education to the large number of learners in Africa. Since this is a young University, the Board is fully conscious of the need to lay the foundation of quality education; hence, the emphasis is always on quality. I would like to express the Board’s gratitude to all members of OU staff without whose support OU cannot provide the best service desired by the large number of learners. Mr R Duva Pentiah CSK Chairperson Open University of Mauritius 6 Open University of Mauritius ANNUAL REPORT 2015 DIRECTOR-GENERAL’S FOREWORD fter being the only local public university having registered a positive growth (as high as 88%) in 2014, the challenge was to sustain the growth Ain 2015. In this context, one of the major steps was the award of the ISO Certification to Open University of Mauritius (OU). Indeed, OU is the first and only public university to be ISO-Certified. One of the biggest achievements of our very young university has been its acceleration towards becoming financially independent. We have ensured that the fees are not increased, to enable everyone to acquire quality education at an affordable fee. Moreover, the year 2015 will always be remembered in the history of OU. The first graduation ceremony was held on 8, 9 and 10 July 2015. The first certificate of OU during this historic graduation ceremony was awarded to the Nobel Prize Laureate Dr J-M G Le Clézio. His presence was a blessing for our new university. His speech as well as that of the Hon. (Mrs) Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, Minister of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research, will remain a source of motivation for all the students of OU. Despite the mismatch between the rate of growth of the population of learners and of staff, we were able to offer the quality service that our dear learners deserve. We will always endeavour to ensure that our learners who are away from the University never feel isolated. Definitely, without the dedication and sincere contribution of the staff members, we would have failed to provide the quality education to the rapidly growing number of learners. The year also ended with the Quality Audit carried out by the Tertiary Education Commission. The outcomes of such exercises will play a pivotal role in establishing a leading university. We will surely continue to pursue our effort to acquire further quality assurance certification as well as a strong quality assurance system. We have also endeavoured to consolidate our partnerships at international level. We have also become a member of the following international and regional associations. OU is proud to be a member of these International Associations: • Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) • African Council of Distance Education
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