Rebuilding the Education Sector in East Timor during UNTAET: International Collaboration and Timorese Agency

281 Pages·2020·1.908 MB·English

by  Trina Supit

Rebuilding the Education Sector
in East Timor during UNTAET
This original volume examines the collaboration between East Timorese
and international staff in the rebuilding of the education sector
during the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor
(UNTAET) 1999–2002. Using interviews, contemporary newspaper
articles and reports from UN sources and the World Bank, the book
enables a comprehensive analysis of Timorese agency.
Examining choices made by the Timorese and drawing comparison
with other former Portuguese colonies, the text considers the power of
the Timorese elite, the role of nepotism and corruption, the preservation
of the Indonesian curriculum and the selection of Portuguese as the
medium of instruction and official language – together with Tetum.
Concluding with a contemporary discussion on the educational
achievements for East Timorese children during UNTAET compared
with those of today, Rebuilding the Education Sector in East Timor during
UNTAET will be of interest to academics, researchers and post-graduate
students in the fields of post-conflict studies, post-colonial education and
language policy as well as East Timor more specifically. This book will also
benefit graduate students and scholars in teacher education.
Trina Supit completed her PhD at the University of Sydney, Australia.
She was a member of the UNTAET Division of Education.
Routledge Studies in Educational History
and Development in Asia
For a full list of titles in this series, please visit www.routledge.com/
Routledge-Studies-in-Educational-History-and-Development-in-Asia/
book-series/HEA
1 The History of Education in Japan (1600–2000)
Edited by Masashi Tsujimoto and Yoko Yamasaki
2 Education, Industrialization and the End of Empire in Singapore
Kevin Blackburn
3 Decolonizing the History Curriculum in Malaysia and Singapore
Kevin Blackburn and ZongLun Wu
4 Rebuilding the Education Sector in East Timor during UNTAET
Trina Supit
Rebuilding the Education
Sector in East Timor during
UNTAET
International Collaboration
and Timorese Agency
Trina Supit
First published 2021
by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an
informa business
© 2021 Trina Supit
The right of Trina Supit to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-0-367-34561-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-32655-4 (ebk)
Typeset in Baskerville
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To Jan

Contents
List of Figures viii
List of Tables ix
List of Abbreviations and Acronyms x
Terminology xiii
Acknowledgements xiv
Preface xviii
Introduction 1
1 The East Timor Context 3
2 Colonial Policies in Education 30
3 East Timorese and the Internationals 61
4 Teachers and Their Recruitment 99
5 Appropriating the Portuguese Linguistic Heritage 132
6 Numbers on a Spreadsheet? East Timorese and
the World Bank 162
7 The Legacy of Education During UNTAET 196
Appendices 220
References 225
Index 252
Figures
1.1 Portuguese 2 Euro Coin Commemorating 500 Years
Since First Contact With Timor 16
4.1 A classroom in Fatuahi in March 2000 101
4.2 Primary teacher qualifications in 2003 125
Tables
2.1 Population of Portuguese Timor According
to the 1950 Census 33
2.2 Students, Teachers and Schools in Portuguese Timor 36
2.3 Growth in Primary Education During the Indonesian
Occupation 47
2.4 Primary School Distribution per District in the 1997/98
School Year 48
4.1 Primary Teacher Allocations per District in 2000 110
4.2 Primary Teacher Allocations per District in 2001 123
6.1 Emergency School Readiness Project Funding 166
7.1 Growth in Primary School Population Since UNTAET 203