University Tuition and Cost of Study in Mauritius
By Muntasir • Published Sep 18, 2026 • Updated Sep 18, 2026 • African Countries & Cities
The State pays tuition for a first certificate, diploma, or degree for eligible Mauritian nationals under the Free Tertiary Education Scheme, but you still budget for registration, exam, and living costs, and private institutions charge full fees.
💵 The Free Tertiary Education Scheme covers a first certificate, diploma, or degree at 10 public institutions for eligible Mauritian nationals studying full time.
🎓 Private universities set and charge their own full tuition, with no state subsidy.
📩 Registration, exam, and material fees still apply even where tuition is free.
🏠 Accommodation, food, and transport are the biggest ongoing costs for most students.
What "free" tuition actually covers
Mauritius runs a Free Tertiary Education Scheme under which the State pays tuition fees directly to public higher education institutions on behalf of eligible students, rather than paying the money to the student (Higher Education Commission ). The Higher Education Commission (HEC) regulates and monitors the scheme across the public higher education institutions it oversees.
Free tuition applies to your first award at each level, certificate, diploma, or degree, at one of the 10 public institutions covered by the scheme. Postgraduate study is excluded, apart from top-up degrees. Repeat and resit costs are excluded outright and are borne by the student, and part-time study does not qualify. Confirm directly with your university's finance office before you build a budget around it.
Who counts as an eligible student
The scheme applies to Mauritian nationals enrolled full time in a recognised first-award program at one of the 10 public institutions HEC regulates, and who are not already covered by a scholarship or sponsorship. International students and part-time students are excluded. Eligibility rules and the list of covered institutions are set by government policy and can change between academic years, so treat program-level detail as something to confirm with HEC or your chosen institution rather than as fixed.
Costs that remain even with free tuition
| Cost item | Public institution (eligible student) | Private institution |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition, first bachelor's degree | State-paid under the Free Tertiary Education Scheme | Full fee set by the institution |
| Registration and administrative fees | Still payable | Still payable |
| Examination fees | Still payable | Usually built into tuition |
| Study materials and books | Student pays | Student pays |
| Hostel or off-campus rent | Student pays where used | Student pays where used |
Ask your institution's finance office for its current fee schedule before enrolling. Public institutions publish a list of fees payable each academic year covering everything the Free Tertiary Education Scheme does not.
Private institution tuition
Private universities and branch campuses in Mauritius set tuition per program, and none of it is covered by the Free Tertiary Education Scheme. Fees differ widely by field: business and IT programs generally cost less than health sciences programs, or programs delivered in partnership with a foreign university that charges its home institution's rates. Get a written, itemized fee schedule directly from the admissions office before you commit, since marketing pages often quote a starting figure that excludes registration, exam, and resource fees.
Living costs
Your biggest ongoing cost is usually accommodation, followed by food, transport, and phone or data. Students who live with family and commute to campus by bus save the most, which is common in Mauritius given the island's small size and dense public bus network. Students from Rodrigues, or students who choose a campus far from home, carry higher costs, since they need to rent a room and cover full monthly food and utility bills.
Build a personal budget around four categories: accommodation, food, transport, and study materials, then add a buffer for phone, data, and personal costs. Ask current students at your target institution what they actually spend, since published averages rarely match daily student life.
Ways to cut costs
Choose a public institution and confirm your program qualifies under the Free Tertiary Education Scheme.
Live at home or share off-campus housing instead of renting alone.
Buy secondhand textbooks or use the university library instead of buying every text new.
Look into HRDC training and stipend programs once you graduate, to ease the transition into paid work.