Questionnaire Text

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In strict confidence
Ministry of Economic Planning and Development
Central Statistical Office

Population Census
Mauritius

Night of 1-2 July 1990

Notice

1. Persons by whom the return is to be made
In the case of:

(i) households: the Head of the household or person for the time being acting as head;
The head of a household is any adult member, whether male or female, who is acknowledged as head by the other members. A household is either (i) a person living on his own or (ii) a group of two or more persons who may or may not be related, but who live together and make common provision for food and other essentials for living. Two families living in one house constitute one household if they have common housekeeping arrangements, but should be considered as separate households if they have separate housekeeping arrangements and should then be entered on two separate census forms.
(ii) hotels, clubs, boarding houses: the Manager or other person for the time being in charge of the premises;
(iii) hospitals, infirmaries, asylums, prisons or any other residential institution: the Chief Resident Officer or other person for the time being in charge of the institution;
(iv) Naval Forces, Air Forces, the Special Mobile Force or the Police Training School: the Commanding Officer or the officer presently in charge;
(v) ships, barges or other vessels in any port or harbor in Mauritius: the Captain, master or other person for the time being in charge of the vessel;
(vi) persons arriving after midnight on the night 1-2 July 1990 and who have not been enumerated elsewhere: the person specified above by whom the return is to be made with respect to the persons present at midnight on 1 July 1990 in any of the premises mentioned above;
(vii) persons not included in any of the above-mentioned categories: the person in respect of whom the return is to be made.

2. Persons in respect of whom the return is to be made

(i) All persons who spend census night 1-2 July 1990 on the premises whether they are members of the household, visitors, guests, boarders or servants;
(ii) all persons who arrive on the premises and join the household on Monday July 2 1990 without having been enumerated elsewhere; and
(iii) all temporarily absent members of the household, i.e. all persons who usually live in the household, but who are away on census night, for example, on a business trip, on vacation, in hospital or studying abroad; include them even if you know that they are being enumerated elsewhere.

3. Legal provisions

(i) The Census is taken by the Central Statistical Office under the Statistics Act. Every person is required by law to give to the person responsible for making the return such information as may be necessary to enable the return to be made. No use may however be made of such information by the person to whom it is given except for the purpose of making the return.
(ii) Any person who refuses or neglects to fill in the form or to supply the particulars required therein or who knowingly makes in this form any statement which is untrue in any material particular shall commit an offence under the Statistics Act, and shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year and to a fine not exceeding Rs. 1,000.
(iii) All information obtained in the course of the Census is treated as confidential. No information about named individuals is ever passed on by the central Statistical Office to any other Government Department or to any other Authority or person. All enumerators and other officers engaged in the taking of the Census are under oath and are liable to prosecution if they improperly disclose any information which has come to their knowledge while performing their duties.

4. Completion of the form

The form should be completely filled in by the person designated in section 1 above. If any difficulty is experienced, particularly with columns 24 to 37, guidance should be sought from the Enumerator when he calls to collect the form. If the answers are incomplete or inaccurate, the enumerator will ask any questions necessary to enable him to complete or correct the form.
The information should be entered in the space provided using ink or a ball-point pen. Nothing should be written in the boxes which are reserved for codes.

5. Collection of the form

The form will be collected on 2 or 3 July 1990 by the appointed enumerator.
Before completing the census form, please consult the guide which is in both English and French.

Declaration
I declare that the information in this return is true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Signature or mark of the person making the return: ____
Signature of authorized officer: ____

Please do not write anything in the boxes
Complete a line for every person present on Census night (1-2 July 1990) and also for every person who usually lives in the household but was absent on Census night.
See instructions in section 2 on front page.

10 Usual address 5 years ago ____

Was the person's address 5 years ago (on 1.7.85) the same as that shown in column 8?
If yes, write 'yes'.
If no, write the person's usual address on 1.7.85.
For a child under 5 years, write 'not born'.
Questionnaire instructions view entire document:  text  image
7. Instructions on how to fill in the census form
The Census form has to be filled in completely by the head of the household.
A household is either one person living alone, or a group of persons, who may or may not be related, but who live together and make common provision for food and other essentials for living. The head of household is any adult member, whether male or female, who is acknowledged as head by the other members.

The census form can contain information for up to 10 persons. If there are more than ten persons, continue on a new form which can be obtained from the Census enumerator. Please note that nothing should be written in the shaded boxes [][]: they are reserved for inserting codes.

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After completing the form, have it ready so that the enumerator can collect it on Monday 2 July 1990 or soon after. If you are not sure how to complete any of the entries, please ask the enumerator to help you when he or she calls. He or she will also check your answers and ask any questions necessary to complete the form and correct inaccurate entries.

Column 10
Usual address 5 years ago
If the person's usual address 5 years ago (i.e. on 1.7.85) was the same as that entered in column 8, write 'yes'. If not, write the person's usual address on 1.7.85, specifying the Municipal Council Ward or Village Council Area where possible.

For children now under 5 years of age, write 'Not bornĀ·.

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