COUNCIL OF MINISTERS 31 ST OF JULY 2008
The Council of Ministers met this Thursday, 31 st July 2008 in the Council of Ministers meeting room, Palacio do Govern in Dili. It analysed, discussed and approved a document on “Initial Licensing and Accreditation of the Higher Education Institutions of Timor-Leste”, made by the World Bank at the request of the Government.
The document includes a report regarding the scope of the initial licensing and accreditation process in the higher education institutions of Timor-Leste. The report was drafted by an international assessment commission, composed of seven elements coming from six countries, led by Dr. Marjorie Peace Lenn, a consultant hired by World Bank and President of “The Centre for Quality Assurance in International Education” based in Washington D.C., to whom the Council of Ministers is deeply thankful for the excellent workd that was presented.
The international assessment team has worked between the 24 th of March and 5 th of April 2008 by assessing the 14 higher education institutions that have submited the necessary documentation within the deadline. From this work a report was produced making recommendations, which the Council of Ministers approved, stating that these recommendations were quite relevant and that the quality of the work presented reflects great rigour and quality.
The institutions that meet 70 per cent of the defined criteria receive an accreditation for a five-year period, during which they should improve on the standards that have not yet been met. The institutions that meet only 50 to 69 per cent of the criteria are given a one year period to improve the deficiencies, should this fail to happen the accreditation will be denied. Where only up to 49 per cent of the criteria has been met, the accreditation is rejected.
