DILI, 16 january 2024 (TATOLI) – One hundred and fifty Portuguese teachers of the Centers of Learning and School Training (CAFE) will arrive in Timor-Leste from Portugal, on sunday (21/01).
According to CAFÉ’s coordinator, Roger Soares, the number of Portuguese teachers has increased from 136 last year to 150 this year.
“The coordination between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Timor-Leste and Portugal has made it possible for the teachers to arrive in mid-January. This is a little earlier than in previous years when they arrived two or three months after the start of the school year,” Soares told Tatoli, Dili.
It’s recalled that in 2022 a group of teachers arrived in Timor-Leste at the end of april and in 2023 at the beginning of march.
When asked about the lack of space to accommodate the more than 1,300 students enrolled this year at Dili’s CAFE in Taibessi, Roger Soares said that the 12 existing classrooms were insufficient: “Therefore, we it’s necessary to request support from the Municipal Education Service Directorate.”
“This year, only pre-school and secondary school students will have classes at the CAFE facilities. The Nuu-Laran Primary School has provided some rooms where the classes of the 1st and 2nd cycle will be held. The classes of the 3rd cycle will be held at the Hotel and Tourism Technical-Vocational Secondary School,” he said.
Soares added that it’s just a temporary solution as the construction of a new CAFE school in Dili, with two floors and 15 to 20 classrooms, is expected to begin this year.
By 2024, CAFE will be home to 10,057 students at all levels of education, with a teaching staff of 150 Portuguese and 217 Timorese.
CAFE is a bilateral cooperation project established through a partnership between Portugal and Timor-Leste which was signed in december 2014. The project aims to improve the quality of Timor-Leste’s education system by teaching in Portuguese and training Timorese teachers.
Journalist: Camilio de Sousa
Editor: Filomeno Martins
