DILI, 15 july 2021 (TATOLI)—During the Pandemic time, in Timor-Leste (TL), the government implemented lockdown in Dili and some municipalities, where the university learning process had to be halted for months.
However, after seeing a drop in the cases of the COVID-19 recently, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Culture (MESSK) has begun to make a decision, possibly will resume the teaching and learning process of the 18 universities in august, once the majority of lecturers and students get vaccinated.
“It is possible that in august, the universities’ teaching and learning process will be resumed, but they need to comply with the COVID-19 regulations, and the government resolution, in which all lecturers and students must be fully vaccinated before resuming the University activities. So, all universities must fulfill these requirements in order to prevent the transmission of COVID-19,” said Longuinhos dos Santos, the Minister of Education, at Infordepe hall in Dili, today.
He added that currently, a team is overseeing and monitoring the preparation of the universities, to ensure that the resumption of the learning process follows the regulation and rules by the government, saying MESSK will not give permission to those universities that unable to follow the recommended protocols.
“As we know that the Delta variant poses a big threat to the people of Timor-Leste. In our neighboring countries, cases of Delta variants are detected daily. It is a big concern for us,” he explained.
There are 18 universities in TL with 75.000 active students.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Rafy Belo
