When the people of Timor-Leste chose independence from Indonesia in September 1999, pro-Indonesian militias, supported by the Indonesian army, responded with brutality and violence. The impact on education was massive. A report from UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning examines steps taken by the UN to restore the shattered education system before the emergence of Timor-Leste as an independent state in May 2002.

At the beginning of what was supposed to be the 1999-2000 school year three quarters of the population fled across the border into the Indonesian province of West Timor or into the mountains. In West Timor the numbers of refugee children overwhelmed poorly resourced schools and in Timor-Leste only five percent of education institutions were left standing. Schools had been systematically looted and teachers – most of them from Indonesia – had fled.

Staff working for the United Nations Transitional Authority in Timor-Leste and a host of international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) flowed into Timor-Leste and few understood Timorese culture or shared a common language with local people.

The UNESCO report shows that:

• Indonesia’s 24 year-long occupation of Timor-Leste had dramatic effects on access to education.
• The Indonesian authorities and the international community were slow to address the needs of Timor-Leste children while they were displaced in West Timor: UNICEF ‘tent’ schools in refugee camps were abruptly closed when the UN pulled out.
• In the rush to return Timor-Leste children to schools, the government prioritised infrastructure and gave little attention to teacher training, capacity-building, curriculum issues and sustainable financing.
• Political disputes, donors’ emergency pre-planned programmes and exclusion of international NGOs slowed educational reform in Timor-Leste.
• Community participation has been largely confined to mobilising labour to rebuild and repair schools.

Debates about language issues (in a country with around 30 languages or dialects) have distracted attention from issues of education quality. The decision of the East Timorese leadership to phase out the use of Indonesian in favour of Portuguese is controversial. Although four fifths of the population speak Tetum, it is primarily an oral language and lacks technical vocabulary. Around 43 percent of Timor-Leste people are fluent in Indonesian and most teachers and students interviewed in the report would prefer the continued use of Indonesian. There are few young people among the five percent of Timor-Leste people who speak Portuguese and a chronic shortage of primary teachers able to teach in Portuguese.

Major problems remain. Timor-Leste has boosted school enrolments but one in five school aged children still do not attend school, two thirds of adult women are illiterate and 60 percent of the population have never attended school. Trained teachers are in short supply and morale and teaching quality are low. Lessons learned from experience in both West Timor and Timor-Leste are that:

• Supporting local schools to integrate refugee children (rather that providing separate schooling) can accelerate integration processes.
• Decision-making needs to be shared between local and international communities.
• Teacher training cannot be postponed until an education system is fully functioning and the curriculum is known – especially in places where the teaching force is inexperienced and unaware of child-centred approaches.
• The question of language competencies and mother tongue should play a role in determining the language of instruction.
• Children and youth who have been involved in resistance struggles may make schools more violent and their experiences need to be addressed.

Source(s):
‘Learning independence: education in emergency and transition in Timor-Leste since 1999’, International Institute for Educational Planning, UNESCO, by Susan Nicolai 2004
'Timor-Leste - Education Since Independence: From Reconstruction to Sustainable Improvement', Human Development Sector Unit East Asia and Pacific Region, the World Bank, December 2004

Funded by: The UK Department for International Development and UNESCO

id21 Research Highlight: 25 May 2005

Further Information:
Susan Nicolai
Save the Children UK
17 Grove Lane
London SE5 8RD
UK

Tel: +44 (0)20 7703 5400
Fax: +44 (0)20 7703 2278
Contact the contributor: s.nicolai@scfuk.org.uk

Save the Children, UK

International Institute for Educational Planning
7-9 rue Eugène Delacroix
75116 Paris
France

Tel: + 33 145037700
Fax: + 33 1407283.66
Contact the contributor: information@iiep.unesco.org

International Institute for Educational Planning, France

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'Post-conflict education: what are the prospects for co-ordination and local ownership?'

'Reintegrating girls from fighting forces in Africa'

'Using schools to overcome sectarian conflict'

Education in situations of crisis, emergency and reconstruction from UNESCO