New Eton College

The New Eton College (NEC) was founded in 1932 and is a private secondary school in Rose Hill, Mauritius. It provides education to the boys of Rose Hill and surrounding regions.

The New Eton College is the oldest existing private secondary school in Mauritius, after the Bhujoharry College. It was founded by Late Goinsamy Venkatasamy. His objective was to set up a school for the common people, while the country was experiencing discriminatory practices and deprivation of the people on ethnic grounds in schools run by the colonial government. The college ranks among the top private secondary schools of Mauritius. It was owned by the Société Goinsamy Venkatasamy and subsequently managed by Late Vijaynathan Venkatasamy, himself a past student of the New Eton College and a graduate of Chemistry and Physics from Hull University, UK.

Sir Anerood Jugnauth, former Prime Minister of Mauritius, also known as the father of the economic miracle of Mauritius had worked at New Eton College as a teacher in 1949.

Notable alumni include Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Mauritius as well as Pritivirajsing Roopun, President of Mauritius, Me. Rishi Pursum, Senior Counsel and former president of the Bar Council, Om Varma, former Director of the Mauritius Institute of Education and Chairperson of the Open University of Mauritius.

During the 1975 Mauritian student protests riot police arrested a number of students of New Eton College.

Some students of New Eton College have been "Laureates" at the end of their Higher School Certificate (Mauritius) examinations.

The New Eton College is the first secondary school of Mauritius to have produced a "Super Laureate" (awarded for more than one stream). For the December 1976 exams, a student of the Higher School Certificate by the name of Sobnack was awarded the state scholarship for both the Economics and Science side. His subject combination at Advanced Level included Mathematics, Economics and Physical Science (Physics and Chemistry). No information is available as to whether any other student of a private or public secondary school of the country has been able to achieve this feat.

The NEC was known for its foresighted education in the pre-1977 period. In the 1960s onwards, the College had pioneered the introduction of a number of new disciplines in the secondary school curriculum. These were meant to provide an innovative and employment-oriented curriculum. The subjects were: Technical Drawing, Industrial Arts, Surveying, Electricity and Electronics, Economics, Physical Science, Statistics, Law, Sociology.

The New Eton College was also the first institution of Mauritius to introduce Sociology at "Advanced level" (HSC) in 1980 at the request of 3 students of the Lower VI, headed by Yajnyandra Nath Varma. The students received the support of their Principal, Mr. Vijay Venkatasamy, and a new page was written in the history of education in Mauritius with the first Advanced Level Sociology exams being held in December 1981 with only 3 students entering for this exam.

In 1987, the school was acquired by the New Citizens Co Ltd (NCCL), a company constituting the staff of the New Eton College. The first manager of the school under the NCCL was Mr Seegobin Nunkoo, previously an Education Officer teaching Law in the school. Mr Mahendranath Rakhal was appointed Principal in 1987, who became the first Rector in 1989. The school is now run by a Board constituting Educators and Ex-Educators, managed by a professional manager appointed by the company.

In 2015, the school won the top prize for the "science mural" contest, an initiative of the Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre (RGSC) in collaboration with the Indian High Commission and the Indira Gandhi Centre for Indian Culture. The aim was to encourage students of Form V and Lower VI from secondary schools around the country who had opted for Art subjects to conduct research on topics of scientific interest and demonstrate their creative and artistic skills.