Higher Education Commission, Mauritius

Name

Higher Education Commission, Mauritius

Legal name

Higher Education Commission

Website

https://hec.mu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Regulation

NAICS

Administration of Education Programs (923110), Administration of Education Programs (92311), Public Administration (92), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Higher Education Governance & Quality Policy Research (EDADADAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Online/Distance Education Quality & Accreditation Bodies (EDADACAK), International/Transnational Accreditation & Recognition Bodies (EDADACAG), National/State Examination Boards & Testing Agencies (EDADAFAA)

Keywords

• Higher education regulation
• Programme accreditation services
• Qualification recognition
• Research funding schemes
• Tertiary education funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Reduit

HQ country

Mauritius

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

HEC is the statutory regulatory body for higher education in Mauritius, delivering registration and accreditation of higher education institutions (HEIs), recognition and equivalence of qualifications, funding of public HEIs (including administration of the Free Tertiary Education Scheme), and promotion of research through 18 research fund schemes and the Mauritius Africa Scholarship Scheme. It also operates an e-services online portal for application submissions and supports national initiatives such as the National Credit Value & Transfer System (NCVTS), the National Open Educational Resources Repository, a Micro-Credentials Framework, and a Technology-Enabled Learning (TEL) Initiative.

Product overview

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) is Mauritius's regulatory body for tertiary education, established in 2020 following the restructuring of the Tertiary Education Commission. Rather than a single product, HEC operates as a regulatory platform providing multiple interconnected services including: (1) the HEC Online Portal for e-services and applications, (2) Research Fund Schemes supporting 18 research programmes and MPhil/PhD scholarships, (3) Institutional Accreditation Process (IAP) for quality assurance of HEIs, (4) Recognition & Equivalence Services for credential evaluation, (5) National Credit Value & Transfer System (NCVTS) for credit mobility, (6) National OER Repository for open educational resources, (7) Free Tertiary Education Scheme for state-funded tuition, (8) Technology-Enabled Learning (TEL) Initiative for digital education, (9) Micro-Credentials Framework for industry-led short courses, and (10) the Mauritius Africa Scholarship Scheme. HEC also published Guidelines on AI in Higher Education (June 2025) to guide institutions on responsible AI adoption.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HEC Online Portal (E-Services) Comprehensive e-services platform providing online application submission for recognition and equivalence of qualifications, institutional registration, programme accreditation, and reviewer/subject specialist applications. Used by HEIs and individual qualification holders across Mauritius.
• Research Fund Schemes Eighteen research schemes to build research capacity in the higher education sector, including Individual Research Support, Team-Based Research, Interdisciplinary Research, Early Career Research Grant, and Matching Grant Scheme. Awards MPhil/PhD scholarships for public university research. Targeted at academic staff and postgraduate students in Mauritius's HEIs.
• Institutional Accreditation Process (IAP) Regulatory process for accreditation of higher education institutions' programme accreditation processes, mandated by the Higher Education Act 2017. All HEIs (public and private) must obtain institutional accreditation by 31 August 2027 in order to legally operate.
• Recognition & Equivalence of Qualifications Statutory service that formally acknowledges the appropriateness of a qualification for a specific purpose (recognition) and formally establishes whether two or more qualifications are equal or comparable in value (equivalence), for qualifications obtained in or outside Mauritius. All applications must be submitted online. Targeted at individual qualification holders for further education and/or employment activities.
• National Credit Value & Transfer System (NCVTS) Framework National framework that enables credit transfer and recognition across higher education institutions in Mauritius, supporting student mobility and lifelong learning. Targeted at HEIs and students seeking credit portability across Mauritian higher education providers.
• National Open Educational Resources (OER) Repository Repository of reviewed Open Educational Resources developed under HEC's OER initiative, providing curated open course content for higher education. Targeted at students, faculty, and HEIs seeking open-access teaching and learning materials.
• Free Tertiary Education Scheme State-funded scheme administered by HEC's Finance Division under which the Government pays tuition fees on behalf of eligible students enrolled at 10 public higher education institutions (including UoM, UTM, UDM, MGI(T), RTI(T), OU, MIE, FDI, PML and MITD). Targeted at eligible students at public HEIs.
• Technology-Enabled Learning (TEL) Initiative Multi-phase initiative to promote technology-enabled learning in Mauritian HEIs, currently in Phase 4. Includes benchmarking reports and AI guidelines for higher education, supporting digital pedagogy and innovation across the sector.
• Micro-Credentials Framework National framework for industry-led micro-credentials in Mauritius, co-designed with academia and industry partners. Six pilot micro-credentials developed in Tourism, IT, AI, HRM, Finance, and Nursing sectors. Targeted at HEIs, industry partners, and learners seeking short, industry-validated credentials.
• Mauritius Africa Scholarship Scheme Scholarship programme for African students to study in Mauritius, managed by HEC's Research and Planning Division. Promotes internationalisation and supports students from across the African continent pursuing higher education in Mauritius.
• HEC Online Library Digital library resources and publications provided by HEC for higher education institutions and stakeholders, supporting research and policy work in the Mauritian higher education sector.
• Higher Education Management Information System (HEMIS) System for regular collection, analysis, and dissemination of higher education data to stakeholders, operated by HEC's Research and Planning Division. Supports data-driven policy formulation, planning, and decision-making in the higher education sector.

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Dr Vis NaidoominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026International resource person engaged for the three-day workshop on Academia-Industry Co-Designed Micro-Credentials, providing expertise on micro-credential framework development.
• Dr Mairéad Nic Giolla MhichílminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026International resource person engaged for the micro-credentials workshop, providing guidance on benchmark-adopt-build-validate model for micro-credential development.
• Ms Wendy PalmerminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026International resource person engaged for the micro-credentials workshop, contributing to international case study reviews and structured co-design exercises.
• University of EdinburghcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019International research collaboration on proteomics analysis to unravel the role of local food following processing in cancer chemoprevention. Collaboration with Professor Carragher from University of Edinburgh on bioactive constituents research.
• University of MysoreminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Research collaboration on nanoemulsion-based delivery systems for nutraceuticals and functional foods with enhanced bioaccessibility and bioavailability.
• SADCminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019SADC has provided support for mainstreaming Water-Energy-Food Nexus concepts at national level. Mauritius benefited from SADC support following a SADC country study report on WEF Nexus.
• Cyclotron Réunion Ocean Indien (CYROI), La RéunioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Collaboration on tissue engineering research including in vivo studies performed at CYROI which houses the only EU approved Animal facility in the Indian Ocean. Also collaborated on marine resources research for biomedical and cosmetic applications.
• University of Siegen, GermanyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018International research partnership on advanced scaffold characterization using solid state NMR for tissue engineering research.
• Keele UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018International collaboration on proteomics research examining the role of local food following processing in cancer chemoprevention.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Quality Assurance Authority (QAA), Mauritius: QAA Mauritius is the most direct peer — it was created alongside HEC in January 2020 from the split of the former Tertiary Education Commission, and shares the same physical headquarters and Board oversight structure. QAA handles quality assurance specifically while HEC handles regulatory/funding functions, making them sibling bodies with overlapping jurisdiction.
• Higher Learning Commission (HLC), United States: US regional accreditor covering institutional accreditation for hundreds of colleges and universities. Comparable to HEC's transition from programme-level to institutional-level accreditation and its periodic audit function.
• Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA), UK: UK's independent quality body for higher education, responsible for safeguarding standards, accrediting providers, and advising on qualifications. Directly comparable to HEC's quality assurance, accreditation, and recognition/equivalence functions.
• Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), Australia: Australia's national higher education regulator, established by statute with monopoly authority over HE provider registration, accreditation, and quality assessment. TEQSA is the closest international analogue to HEC's combined registration, accreditation, and recognition mandate.
• WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), United States: US regional accreditor focused on institutional accreditation of senior colleges and universities. Comparable to HEC's institutional accreditation process and periodic review function.
• Higher Education Authority (HEA), Ireland: Ireland's statutory body for higher education policy, funding allocation, and quality assurance. Closely matches HEC's combined regulatory and funding allocation mandate across public institutions.

Regional players

• Council on Higher Education (CHE), South Africa: Statutory body in South Africa responsible for HE quality assurance, accreditation, and policy advice. Comparable as an African regional peer operating under similar higher-education-act governance models.
• National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), Uganda: Uganda's statutory regulatory body for higher education institutions, responsible for licensing, accreditation, and quality assurance. Comparable African peer with similar institutional registration and programme accreditation mandate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/higher-education-commission-mauritius

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Higher Education Commission, Mauritius