This presentation outlines issues facing the education sector in Timor-Leste. It discusses the country's education system and infrastructure challenges like the lack of qualified teachers and damaged schools from the 1999 conflict. Socioeconomic problems also impact education, such as poverty, health issues, and cultural practices like early marriage. The presentation suggests focusing on improving rural education access through better infrastructure, maintaining existing schools, developing teachers, and addressing underlying economic issues. Overall, it analyzes the key problems facing education in Timor-Leste and proposes solutions to enhance the quality and availability of schooling.

1. Prepared and Presented by :
Pedro Ximenes
Adelaide, 18 March 2014
ISSUES INTIMOR-LESTE
EDUCATION SECTOR

2. Outline of Presentation.
I. Fact sheet aboutTimor-Leste
II. Education system inTimor-Leste
III. Issues in education
1. Lack of infrastructure
2. Lack of qualified Human Resource
3. Socio Economic issues
4. Geographic Location
5. Culture
6. Education Policy
IV. Impact from issue surrounding education
V. Milestones Achieved
VI. Conclusion and suggestion

3. I. Fact sheet aboutTimor-Leste
 Area : 14,874 sq km (160 )
 Population : 1,172,390 (160)
 Age structure :
 0-14 years: 42.7% (male 257,340/female 243,174)
 15-24 years: 19.7% (male 116,605/female 114,203)
 25-54 years: 29.3% (male 166,048/female 177,024)
 55-64 years: 4.8% (male 28,717/female 27,011)
 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 20,428/female 21,840)
 Adult literacy rate : 58.3%
 GDP per capita : $10,000 (119)
 Languages :Tetum (official), Portuguese (official), Indonesian, English (Working languages)
 There are about 16 indigenous languages
 Urban population: 28.3% of total population

4. II. Education System inTimor-Leste
 2 years of pre-school-not compulsory (kindy)
 9 years of compulsory and free basic education (primary education
and lower secondary)
 3 years of secondary education or technical and vocational secondary
education
 1-4 years of university conferring degree from diploma up to bachelor
 Master and doctorate (available through international cooperation
with international institutions from Indonesia, Portugal and brazil)

5. III. Issues in Education
1. Lack of Infrastructure
 Main Infrastructure (schools, chairs, tables )
 During the withdrawal of the occupying
Indonesian forces in 1999, 90% ofTimor-
Leste's public infrastructure and buildings
including schools were destroyed
 Out of 1530 schools (2010) with 22,773
classrooms, 70% of are in a precarious
condition and will require repairs and
renovations very shortly.
 Supporting Infrastructure (Toilets, Running
water, water
canalization, books, pencils, textbook, scho
ol clothes)
 Most of schools don’t have basic proper
sanitation facility

6. 2. Lack of Qualified Human resources
 Teachers
 School Leaders /school principals
 Most of teacher fledTimor after 1999,
leaving only few hundred teachers at
2000
 The number of teachers are doubled,
from 5,700 to over 12,000 since 2003.
 Many teachers have been recruited and
trained across the country, resulting in
better student-teacher ratio from 45:1 to
28:1.

7. 3. Socio Economic issue
 Poverty
 many family can only afford to keep their child in school up to
9 grade (compulsory, free education),
 because of reliance on subsistence farming many boys and
even girls are forced to work on field helping their parents to
assure the food availability.
 Health (mal nutrition, disease (malaria, dengue )
 Lack of funding
 Less then 10% of gov. funding is allocated to education, of these 3% goes
to staff salary
 Unemployment

8. 4. Geographic Location
 isolation,
 rough terrain,
 lack or even inexistence of
access to school
 No road, no bridge (during
monsoon season students
may not be able to go to
school, some even become
victim of flash flood on their
way to school)

9. 5. Culture
 Over emphasis on cultural and
tradition (Huge burden to family
economy)
 Preference on boys over girl
(paternalistic culture, still visible
especially in rural areas)
 Young age marriage (especially
for girls)

10. 6. Education Policy
 Language policy.
 Gap between policy planning
and implementation
 Almost inexistence of
assessment and evaluation of
education
 Over emphasis in General
secondary education

11. V. Milestones Achieved
 More student enrolled in schools
 Increased number of teachers (96% from 2000 to 2010)
 Many teachers have been recruited and trained across the
country, resulting in better student-teacher ratio from 45:1 to 28:1.

12. VI. Suggestion
 Better planning and focus on the quality of school infrastructure
 School mapping, school cluster (don’t just rebuilt old school, need
assessment)
 Maintenance of school building (needs coordinated effort from
min, education)
 Need to build supporting facility (toilets, running water, fences)
 Maintain security on school premises
 Focus on the rural education
 Attention to private education system
 Capacity development on current teacher (in house training) and the
need to restructure current teacher education program

13. VI. Suggestion….. Cont..
 Focus on eradicating poverty through capacity development and up skilling
subsistence farming to exchange family food availability. (not through
subsidy or giving away money).
 Improvement in road condition, construction and rehabilitation of bridges to
enable more access to school.
 More funding on education but please get rid of these
 Although culture needs to be preserved as national heritage, however there
should be a radical change in the mindset of rural people ( again education is
a key factor)
 The need to revise the policy
 Is Portuguese still relevant as the official language ? (it’s been 12 years Now)
 Further investment in Mother tongue based education is necessary.

14. “Thank you”
“ Obrigado wain”