Presentation:

THE POLICY OF TEACHER EDUCATION SYSTEM IN TIMOR-LESTE:

Achievements & Challenges

Bangkok, October 5, 2014

Presented by: Abilio de Araujo

This presentation covers the following aspects:

1. A brief overview on Timor-Leste and its education system including the fundamental principles of education in Timor-Leste.

2. The key achievements in education system post independence of Timor-Leste.

3. The main issues and challenges in teacher education system in Timor-Leste.

4. The government policy in addressing the challenges on teacher education system in Timor-Leste.

5. The suggestions for further cooperation in ASEAN.

Introduction

East Timor is officially known as Timor-Leste, obtained its independence on May 20, 2002 after 450 years of Portuguese colonial rule, followed by 24 years of Indonesian occupation.

East Timor is a small island in the Southeast Asia and Asia Pacific region situated between Indonesia and Australia.

The population of East Timor is 1,066,582 (Census data 2010)

Tetum and Portuguese are the official languages, while English and Bahasa Indonesia are considered as working languages as enshrined in the constitution of East Timor.

As a post-colonial country, East Timor experienced different education systems such as the Portuguese, Indonesian, the transitional government under the UN and the East Timor education system.

A Brief Overview on Timor-Leste

The evolution of education system in East Timor is divided in 4 different periods:

1. The Portuguese era: Education system was administrated by the Portuguese Missionaries in mid 19th century through catholic church. Only few schools opened and very few people accessed to education.

2. The Indonesian period (1978-1999): The system introduced was six years of primary school, three years of junior high school and three years of senior high school, and 1-2 years of polytechnic and minimum of 4 years in a university level.

3. Transitional government of East Timor (1999-2002): The education system under the UN administration was given in Tetum and Indonesian with lack of infrastructure, poor learning resources and unqualified teachers;

4. Post-Independence: A complete education system covers from pre-school to higher education, with nine-years of free, compulsory, basic education (Grade 1-9).

The Landscape of Education System in Timor-Leste

The education system in Timor-Leste is driven by 2 fundamental principles such as Human Rights and Human Capital approaches.

These fundamental principles are enshrined in our Constitution, article 59 and they have been translated into the National Strategic Development Plan and National Education Development Plan (2011-2030) which state that:“In 2030 the people of Timor-Leste will be educated, knowledgeable and qualified to live long and productive lives, respectful of peace, family and positive traditional values. All individuals will have the same opportunities for access to quality education that will allow them to participate in the economic, social and political development process, ensuring social equity and national unity”

Our NDSP (2011-2030) states also that the greatest wealth of our nation lies in the strength of its people, which is why education is a key priority of the 5th Constitutional Government led by HE Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.

The Fundamental Principles of Education System in Timor-Leste

The Current Structure of Education System in Timor-Leste

Education Statistical Data (Number of Students)

Number of Students in Public School Number of Students in Private School

Year of Collection Number of Student in Public School

2014 Male Female Total

Basic Education 138247 132767 271014

General Secondary 14958 15523 30481

Technical Secondary 2286 1511 3797

Year of Collection Number of Student in Private School

2014 Male Female Total

Basic Education 22677 22383 45060

General Secondary 5850 6954 12804

Technical Secondary 827 799 1626

Male Female Total

Male; Basic Ed-ucation; 138247

Female; Basic Education;

132767

Total; Basic Ed-ucation; 271014

Male; General Secondary ; 14958

Female; General Secondary ; 15523

Total; General Secondary ; 30481 Male; Technical

Secondary; 2286Female; Technical Secondary; 1511

Total; Technical Secondary; 3797

Number of Students in 2014 (Data from EMIS)PUBLIC

Basic Education General Secondary Technical Secondary

Male Female Total

Male; Basic Ed-ucation; 22677

Female; Basic Education; 22383

Total; Basic Ed-ucation; 45060

Male; General Secondary ; 5850

Female; General Secondary ; 6954

Total; General Secondary ;

12804

Male; Technical Secondary; 827

Female; Tech-nical Sec-

ondary; 799Total; Technical

Secondary; 1626

Number of Students in 2014 (Data from EMIS)PRIVATE

Basic Education General Secondary Technical Secondary

Education Statistical Data (Number of Teachers)

Number of Teachers in Public School

Number of Teachers in Private School

Year of CollectionNumber of Teacher in

Public School2014 Male Female Total

Basic Education 4892 2534 7426General Secondary 817 319 1136

Technical Secondary 194 81 275

Year of Collection Number of Teacher in Private School

2014 Male Female TotalBasic Education 610 521 1131

General Secondary 167 83 250

Technical Secondary 28 12 40

Male Female Total

Male; Basic Ed-ucation; 610 Female; Basic

Education; 521

Total; Basic Ed-ucation; 1131

Male; General Secondary; 167 Female; General

Secondary; 83

Total; General Secondary; 250

Male; Technical Secondary; 28

Female; Techni-cal Secondary; 12

Total; Technical Secondary; 40

Number of Teachers in 2014 (Data from EMIS)PRIVATE

Basic Education General Secondary

Technical Secondary

Male Female Total

Male; Basic Ed-ucation; 4892

Female; Basic Education; 2534

Total; Basic Ed-ucation; 7426

Male; General Secondary; 817 Female; General

Secondary; 319

Total; General Secondary; 1136Male; Technical

Secondary; 194Female; Technical

Secondary; 81

Total; Technical Secondary; 275

Number of Teachers in 2014 (Data from EMIS)PUBLIC

Basic Education General Secondary

Technical Secondary

Education Statistical Data Number of Schools (Public and Private)

Year of Collection Number of Schools in Timor Leste (Data from EMIS)

2014 Public Private Total

Basic Education 1077 188 1265

General Secondary 45 35 80

Technical Secondary 13 5 18

Public Private Total

Public; Basic Education;

1077

Private; Basic Education; 188

Total; Basic Education;

1265

Public; General Secondary; 45

Private; Gen-eral Secondary;

35

Total; General Secondary; 80

Public; Tech-nical Sec-ondary; 13

Private; Technical

Secondary; 5

Total; Techni-cal Secondary;

18

Number of Schools in Timor-Leste (Data from EMIS)

Basic Education General Secondary Technical Secondary

The Key Achievements of the Education System in Timor-Leste

East Timor has made some progress in the education sector for the last 12 years since independence in 2002 and education reform is ongoing.

1. Significant progress has been made in access to basic education with the achievement of a 94% Net Enrolment Rate (NER) for Grade 1-6 (Cycle 1 & 2);

Primary Pre-secondary Secondary0

20

40

60

80

100

Primary; Total; 93.6

Pre-sec-

ondary; Total; 30.32

Sec-ondary; Total; 19.5

Primary; Girl;

94.34

Pre-sec-

ondary; Girl;

33.86

Sec-ondary;

Girl; 21.59

Primary; Boy; 92.9

Pre-sec-

ondary; Boy; 27.04

Sec-ondary;

Boy; 17.43

Total Girl Boy

Cont…key achievements in education2. Legal and policy frameworks in education: The education system

has been re-established from its foundation. Some of these key foundations are:

a.Educational Base Law (2008);

b.The Basic Education Law (2010);

c.The Teacher Career Regime (2010);

d.The Teacher Qualification System (2011);

e.The NESP 2011-2030;

f.Legal Regime on Accreditation and Assessment of Pre-School, Basic education and Secondary education (2012)

g.The National Agency for Academic Assessment and Accreditation (2010)

h.The National Policy Framework for Pre-School Education (2013)

i. Legal Regime on the Assessment of Teachers Performance (2014);

3. Curriculum reform from pre-school to higher education level.

Key Achievements in Teacher Education System in Timor-LesteIn Teacher education system, Timor-Leste has made some

progress in pre-service teacher program. Some of the achievements include:

1. Re-qualifications of teachers: 8560 teachers were graduated in Bachelor level from 2010-2014

2. Approval of legal and policy frameworks in teacher education system such as:

a. The Teacher Career Regime (2010);

b.The Teacher Qualification System (2011);

c. Legal Regime on Teachers Performance Appraisal (2014);

1. Language barrier: low ability in Portuguese as a medium of classroom instruction;

2. Pedagogy skills: Most of the teachers who where recruited during the transitional period lack of pedagogy methods;

3. Teaching as a profession vs teaching as a job;

4. Students ratio vs teacher ratio in the classroom (1:60 in a classroom);

5. Continuous assessment and teachers performance appraisal;

6. Teachers accommodation and transport;7. Salary level for teachers;

The Main Issues and Challenges in Teacher Education System in Timor-

Leste

It defines several fundamental principles which are enshrined in the Constitution of Timor-Leste and Educational Base Law. These fundamental principles are also in line with our National Strategic Development Plan (2011-2030) and the 5 years plan of the V Constitutional Government that stated:

1. The quality of education system: aims to prepare human capital for the development of economic, social and cultural aspects of Timor-Leste;

2. Value the merit, qualifications and experiences of teachers;

3. Compulsory of continuous and intensive training of teachers;

4. Teachers performances appraisal: Excellent, Good, Sufficient and Insufficient

5. Teachers equality: teachers have rights for equal opportunities to obtain academic title, training, access and progress in career without any discrimination;

6. Flexibility of duties and mobility of teachers within the territory of Timor-Leste;

Teacher Career Regime Policy

The Government Policy in Addressing the Issues on the Teacher Education System

Cont…Teacher Career Regime Policy The framework on teacher competencies cover the

following aspects:1. Master in official languages (Tetum and Portuguese);2. Technical and scientific knowledge on respective

subjects/areas and academic title;3. Pedagogical skills; 4. Professional ethics;

The teacher career regime sets out the training modalities on:

1. Initial training for teachers;2. Continuous training for teachers;3. Specialized training for teachers;

The teachers classification is divided into 3 categories:1. Teacher assistant;2. Teacher;3. Senior teacher;

The quality of education depends on teachers quality. This notion has shaped the government policy in teacher education system. 1. The establishment of the National Institute for Teacher

Training and Educational Professionals (INFORDEPE) in 2011. Reshaping the roles of INFORDEPE to be more proactive in school leadership training, pedagogical methods and specific training in subject areas for teachers;

2. Teachers certificate of competence (license for teaching)

3. Teaching career regime enforcement; 4. Strengthening the roles of General Inspection of MoE;5. Scholarship programs (from human capital fund);

Mechanism to Address the Challenges on Teacher Education System in

Timor-Leste

Since ASEAN is going to face ONE ASEAN COMMUNITY by 2015, it is important to strengthening the ties among countries in the Southeast Asia region particularly in teacher education system on:

1. Teachers exchange programs: This program might bring a new knowledge and experience for teachers to experience a different learning and teaching atmosphere from other countries in the region;

2. Technical assistant: Further technical assistant from other experienced countries in school leaderships and pedagogical methods might influence teachers performance in the school level.

The Suggestions for Further Cooperation in ASEAN

1. The development of education system has to be seen from the historical background of every country. Timor-Leste’s education system has been overshadowed by 3 different systems. As a young country with 12 years of independence, education and training are the top priorities of the government along with other priority areas. However, in a country that is in the early stages of development, everything is a priority and not only Education.

2. Teacher capacity building is one of the focus of the current government through enforcing the roles of INFORDEPE as a national institute for teacher training.

3. Strengthening the cooperation and partnership among ASEAN member countries might influence policy implementation and this can help to achieve the targeted goals in education sector including teacher education system.

Conclusion

Together we build our region with a good quality of education through

teachers quality despite of our diversities and uniqueness!

Obrigadu barak!

Muito obrigado!

Thank you very much!

Terima kasih banyak!