Education

Education is a high priority for East Timor. It is the key component of all that is required to build a foundation for the country ’ s development. In a recent address to a Friends of Same gathering in Melbourne on 13 August 2004 Jose Ramos Horta spoke of the “ extraordinary will of the people to learn and to send their children to school. ” As an illustration of this he informed the gathering that in 1999 when East Timor was still under Indonesian occupation there were 4,000 University students. In just 5 years this figure has doubled to 8,000. He has a concern with the “ dubious quality ” of some of the private universities currently operating but nonetheless argues that the enthusiasm with which education has been embraced is remarkable.

Investment in education during Portuguese times was insufficient to say the least and improved only slightly during Indonesian occupation. As a result over half the population is illiterate. During Indonesian occupation managerial, administrative, professional and technical positions were largely filled by Indonesians. In the education sector 20% of primary and 90% of secondary school teachers were not Timorese.

Secondary education has expanded at a much slower rate than primary education. As a result the younger generation has higher levels of educational attainment than the older generation. In 2001 57% of the adult population had little or no schooling, 23% had only primary education, 18% had a secondary education and 1.4% had higher education. Of 2091 secondary school teachers only 106 had formal training. Building the human resource is a huge challenge given these facts.

As mentioned earlier, after the referendum where the East Timorese people voted for independence, a terrible wave of violence was unleashed. Buildings were torched and 95% of schools were damaged. Almost all non-Timorese teachers left the country triggering the collapse of the education system. Significant progress has been made since then. Many schools have been rehabilitated and enrolments are increasing but there is still a very long way to go with access to education proving difficult for a number of reasons including cost, distance to nearest school, lack of teacher qualifications and experience, absenteeism of both students and teachers, lack of adequate facilities, lack of interest in schooling, extreme poverty and all its implications. About 67,000 children between the ages of 6 and 11 are currently not in school.

There was no university under the Portuguese. The Universitas Timor Timur (UNTIM) was established under Indonesian occupation. It was a private university housed in a complex of interlinked buildings in Dili. The agricultural

arm was located in Hera six kilometres east of Dili. The University trained middle-level administrators, agricultural extension workers and secondary school teachers. It was not a research institution. Professional courses such as law and medicine were not taught. The study of English was carefully controlled and international contacts discouraged. By 1999 UNTIM had nearly 4,000 students, with 73 permanent teaching staff in three main faculties – agriculture, social and political sciences, and education and teacher training. A college, the Polytechnic in Becora, provided electrical and mechanical engineering, civil construction and accountancy

In September 1999 when the militia aided by Indonesian military rampaged through East Timor the education system was a major target for destruction with schools and the University looted, smashed and burnt. A new university Nacional Universidade Timor Lorosae opened its doors in Dili November 2000. An amazing accomplishment, given the mass destruction experienced only a year previously.

There are over 25 other “ private ” universities operating in East Timor. The Dili Institute of Technology and the Catholic Teachers College in Baucau are examples of institutions with a bright future. There are however many currently operating that will, with the introduction of legislation regulating the higher education sector, either improve their quality of courses and facilities or close.