Chapter I Introduction

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This chapter presents two sections, one of which is the rationale for conducting this study, including its importance for Timor-Leste; the other presents the purpose of the research and a conceptual map briefly analysing the study’s findings. A. Rationale: Identifying an area for research The education sector of Timor-Leste was severely damaged in 1999 following the country’s vote for independence from Indonesia. The country is currently defining an education system relevant to its needs as part of the country’s developmental progress. The National Policy for Education and Culture was approved in 2006 by Timor-Leste’s parliament. The Basic Law for Education was approved and enacted in 2008. Some studies have been conducted and educational reports produced regarding education, including the development of definitive curricula at all levels of education following the system provided by the Basic Law for Education. A Primary School curriculum was developed and approved by the Ministerial Council in 2005. The development of curricula for other levels of schooling is in progress. As defining and refining its education system is considered one of the most important parts of Timor-Leste’s development process, identifying the purposes of education was deemed relevant and important at this stage. To obtain a deeper understanding of the purposes of education relevant to the needs of the country it was considered relevant in this study to explore the views and perceptions of the education stakeholders, as well as those expressed in official documents, about education and education-related issues. 1. Developments in education before the present Timor-Leste is the newest country in this third millennium after Christ. It is a small, post- conflict country with a population of about 924,000 (Census RDTL, 2003) living in a land 1 area of 14,610 square kilometres (UNDAF, 2002). The education sector in Timor-Leste has a long history. It has been through a process of development that can be divided into three periods. Education prior to 1975 was under the Portuguese, including the period of control by the Frente Revolucionário de Timor-Leste Independence (Fretilin) during 1974-1975. From 1976 to 1999, the Indonesian system was in place. From 1999 up to now, the government of Timor-Leste has been trying to establish its own education system by combining the Portuguese and Indonesian systems. Both secular and religiously-based education systems flowed into this tiny country with the Portuguese colonial system and the Catholic Mission. Both continue to play a very important role in the sector. The education sector was rendered inoperable following the East Timorese people’s vote for national independence in 1999. Most teachers and education managers fled to their homeland in Indonesia, leaving a curricular and policy vacuum and a lack of governance structures, including human and financial resources, infrastructure and institutional capacity. Following the transition from United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) control to East Timor Transitional Administration (ETTA) control, the country’s first national administration had to confront various barriers, constraints and obstacles to national development. 2. Current developments in education Timor-Leste is a small country recovering from the consequences of recent conflict. On 20 May 2002 Timor-Leste (2003: vii) became the first new nation in this new millennium after 450 years of Portuguese colonisation and 25 years of Indonesian occupation. The country suffered fundamental economic and social convulsions after the majority of the population voted for independence in the referendum of August 1999. As a result, much of the population was forced to leave their homes and flee to the hills. Almost half fled to Indonesian West Timor. Most infrastructures was destroyed, including that of the education sector. 2 When people returned from the hills and refugee camps, reconstruction was initiated with the support of United Nations. During that time, the first Prime Minister of Timor-Leste (2002-2006), Mari Alkatiri, stated, We have no money at all. The human factor is the only thing we have to achieve development. This means that we must focus on developing the mind first. I reject depending completely on oil and gas in development. (Alkatiri, 2002:1, cited in Hill, Ch.5) It is obvious that the Prime Minister was acutely aware of the need to develop the nation’s human resources, revealing a belief that a simple reliance on resource extraction of oil and gas would not guarantee a better future if educated and qualified people could not manage and lead the country. The government has accepted the main recommendation made by international agencies that better education is central to poverty reduction and national development. Timor-Leste has a high percentage of illiteracy and overall a low level of education. Apart from the education deficit, the poverty line of the country has improved to US$0.88 per person per day (Timor-Leste 2008:3) compared to ‘More than two-in-five (41%) of its population live in poverty which is defined to be less than US$ 0.55 per person per day in September 2001’ (World Bank, 2005:121). At this stage, the decision has been made that central to the development of the country is the reduction of poverty. Flowing from this, the education sector has been identified as the first priority for the development of the country. Seventy percent of Timor-Leste’s population also put education as their first priority for development (NDP, 2002:143). Article 59 of Timor-Leste’s Constitution states that every citizen has a right to education, equal opportunities and access to the highest level of education. (Constitution RDTL, 2002:28). This is reiterated in the country’s 2020 vision for education: We want to be educated and be productive people. We want education for every citizen, including the poor people, disabled people, old people and women, to ensure that all can read and write and are capable of developing our country. (Timor-Leste, 2002:6) 3 The government has emphasised both formal and non-formal education with clear objectives laid down in the 2002-2007 National Development Plan. The Goals of the National Development Plan (NDP) are to improve the educational status of the people; to contribute to the improvement of the economic, social and cultural well-being of individuals, families and communities in Timor-Leste; and to promote gender equity and empower women in Timor-Leste. These goals are strategised into eight key programme areas for the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) formulated in the National Development Plan and translated into the National Education and Culture Policy 2006- 2010 (NECP) with objectives to (1) expand access to education and improve the internal efficiency of the school system; (2) improve the quality of education; (3) create management capacity and improve service operation; (4) promote non-formal education and adult literacy; (5) promote the culture and arts of Timor-Leste; (6) reintroduce physical education in the school curriculum; (7) develop technical and professional education; and (8) develop technical and higher education (MEC, 2006:1). Reflecting on all the above, it can be concluded that the government of Timor-Leste has been absolutely committed in the ten years since independence to developing the education sector both immediately and towards a longer-term 20-year vision. The education sector has been the first priority of Timor-Leste’s development plan. 3. The school education system After the country’s decision for independence in 1999 and until the approval of its Basic Law for Education, the schooling system of the country comprised six years of primary schooling, three years of pre-secondary schooling, and three years of secondary schooling. Tertiary education varies from one year of study for a university degree to the highest university degree. In this type of education system, Junior High School is classified as basic 4 education. A specialisation is selected when the student arrives at Senior Secondary School. However, the newly approved Basic Law for Education article 7 (2008:6) creates an education system composed of pre-schooling, schooling, extra-schooling and professional formation. In this model, schooling is made up of basic education, secondary education and tertiary education. Basic education is composed of a first cycle of four years, a second cycle of two years and a third cycle of three years (BLE, 2008:13). The other levels of education remain the same as the earlier system. The Catholic Church has a unique and important role in Timor-Leste in promoting values formation and ethics education in the light of Gospel values through catechesis and pastoral initiatives (Tam & Guterres, 2004:58). It founded an education system in this country years before any government initiatives. It provides ‘rudimentary education’ (Pereira & Visser 1990, cited in Tawil & Harley 2004:218) to Timorese as in other colonised countries such as Mozambique. This is demonstrated by the history of the Catholic Church in this country. For instance, soon after Servião Province (Oecusse, the enclave district) was established, the first seminary (Catholic educational institution) was founded in 1738. Then a second seminary followed in Manatuto in 1747 (Fernandes, 2000). A great success was achieved in the education sector when the first reformed primary school curriculum was approved by the Council of Ministers on the 9 June 2005. However, pre-secondary curriculum development is only at the initial stage, and the secondary school curriculum has not even been started. Considering the uneven progress of the country’s curriculum development, there is a definite need for relevant studies of education, particularly of curriculum development. Also, the newness of the country means there is a lack of educational studies examining the basis for curricular development in this specific context.

Load more