Mauritius is a multilingual country with English, French and Creole as the main languages, and several ancestral languages which are mainly used for religious ceremonies. Most children speak Creole at home and learn English, French and one ancestral language in the first year of primary school. The educational dropout rate is 40-50% after primary school. It is argued that the use of three languages in primary schooling places too great a cognitive burden on children. Language policy in education needs to be revised on pedagogical and scientific rather than political grounds. It is recommended that language be introduced into the curriculum at different points in time. (Contains 8 notes.)