Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, may I first thank the hon. Member for his question. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish to inform the House that my Ministry is responsible for the processing and prescription of all schemes of service for posts in Civil Service, including those of Rodrigues Regional Assembly. Once the scheme of service is approved by the Public Service Commission and prescribed by my Ministry, it is uploaded on the scheme of service portal of my Ministry. The Scheme of Service Portal has been launched as part of the broader civil service digital transformation programme. These schemes of service are the foundation for recruitment and promotion in the public service. There are presently 2,509 schemes of service on the Scheme of Service Portal of my Ministry. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, with regard to part (a) of the question, I wish to inform the House that in year 2025, after I joined the Ministry, my Ministry carried out an assessment exercise with a view to reviewing the contents of the scheme of service web page. The exercise revealed that there were schemes of service for posts that had been abolished which date as far back as 20 years ago, which still appeared on the website. However, consultations are being held and it is necessary with Ministries and Departments to ascertain whether these schemes of service are still valid and as to whether there are officers serving in these posts. This exercise is also taking into consideration all the changes in appellation of posts which have been recommended in the Pay Research Bureau reports and which have been reflected in the Civil Service establishment order. The exercise is expected to be completed by the end of this year, at the earliest November of this year. Following which, the scheme of service website will be up to date. However, it is to be noted that the that as scheme of service are subject to constant review, the updating of the website is an ongoing process. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also wish to inform the House that the collaborative platform and document management system, the E-scheme of service, for short ESOS, has been developed by my Ministry to digitalise the processing and prescription of schemes of service. The ESOS will replace manual handling with a digital workflow for all review of scheme of service and aims to eliminate processing delays. My Ministry's is proceeding with a user acceptance testing and the ESOS will, subsequently, be rolled out in all Ministries and departments by the end of this very year. With the implementation of the ESOS, the discrepancies in the scheme of service database will no longer arise. As regard part (b), Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, of the question, I wish to inform the House that there are 118 parastatal organisations which presently fall under the purview of the PRB, the Pay Research Bureau. As the House is aware, currently, the final approval of scheme of service for posts in parastatal organisations rests with the respective boards. Once the scheme of service is approved, a copy thereof is submitted to the parent Ministry only for record purposes. Consequently, prior to PRB 2026, my Ministry was not involved in the processing of schemes of service for posts in parastatal organisations and local authorities, except when the PRB was to be consulted on the salary grading of new posts. As regards the scheme of service for posts in local authorities, they are examined at the level of the unified Local Government Service Board before being submitted to the Local Government Service Commission for approval. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, however, I am now informed that the Pay Research Bureau has, at paragraph 16 of its Report of 2026, observed that schemes of service of a few grades in certain parastatal bodies, falling under its purview, have been significantly amended without seeking the prior advice of the Bureau on any bearing on salary. The Bureau considers that this practice is inappropriate as the changes brought to the schemes of service are not according to set policies. The Pay Research Bureau has therefore recommended that henceforth proposed schemes of service of Parastatal Bodies and local authorities should be first submitted to the respective parent ministries for examination, then to my Ministry for consideration to ensure consistency and uniformity and to avoid any malpractice. I also wish to inform the House, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, that the websites of Ministries and Departments form part of the official Government of Mauritius domain and posting of schemes of service in respect of parastatal bodies and local authorities on websites of Ministries and departments requires a policy decision that needs the consultations with relevant authorities such as the Prime Minister's Office, the GIS and the AGO’s Office. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir.

The hon. First Member for Port Louis North and Montagne Longue. PRIVATE PRE-PRIMARY SCHOOLS – GRANT-IN-AID SCHEME – STAKEHOLDERS & CONSULTATIONS