From November 4th to December 14th, a total of 5,167 teachers, at all levels of education, will attend an intensive training course, which will last 29 days.
This course, is aimed at teachers from the Professional Teaching Career (PTC), and will be taking place from Monday to Friday (8:30 am to 11:30 and 13:30 to 16:30), totalling 168 hours. It is organized by the National Institute for Training of Teachers and Education Professionals (INFORDEP), and is aimed at deepening specific curricula knowledge at each level/subject, specifically in the technical and exact sciences areas. The ultimate goal is to promote an exponential improvement in the teaching and learning processes, in the schooling system.
On the 4th of November, at the opening of the course, in the Don Bosco Hall in Dili, the Minister of Education, Bendito dos Santos Freitas, referred to this intensive training course for teachers, as mandatory, because it aims at expanding teachers’ knowledge about pragmatic issues at different education levels/subjects, and it’s main purpose is to prepare the teachers, for the work they will be developing in the classroom.
The course is based not only on the guidelines outlined by the Ministry of Education, about the need for teachers to master the technical and scientific knowledge of each subject, but also about the pedagogical contents, relative to the education/diversity level of each subject, when we consider the new curricula for all high school education levels.
“It is our intention to prepare all Timorese teachers, with their work in the classroom, namely regarding the preparation of their work plan and the teaching materials, in compliance with the guidelines prescribed in the curricular plan,” said the Minister of Education.
This course will be held in the 13 districts and the teachers will be distributed at the 24 Training Centres, according to the following distribution scheme:
- The Kinder Garden teachers, will be placed in Dili, at the Escola Básica Central do Farol;
- The 1st and 2nd grade Primary School Teachers will be placed in the capital of their respective districts;
- The 3rd grade Primary School Teachers will be divided in the 4 INFORDEP training centers: Baucau, Dili, Same, Maliana and Pante Macassar;
- the Teachers of General High School and the Teachers of the General Component of the Technical-Vocational education, will concentrate in Dili and will be placed according to the subjects they lecture, in 3 training centres in the capital. The General Component subjects will be lectured at the Paulo VI Catholic School; the component for Humanities and Social Sciences will be lectured at the Nularan Branch Basic School, and the Science and Technology Component, in the Secondary General School 4 de Setembro.
The Technical Vocational Education will be lectured at the Fatumaca College. These sessions will be presented to teachers from the Technical Schools, Trade Schools, Hospitality and Tourism Schools and Agriculture Schools.
Timorese trainers will be responsible for the Intensive Course, along with teachers connected to Reference Schools, with the support and supervision from Portuguese teachers assigned to the Project for Initial and Continuing Training for Teachers (PFICP). The Portuguese teachers will be present throughout the country to support the trainers in the development and implementation of training activities as well as, to evaluate their performance as trainers from the scientific, methodological, attitudes and values standpoint.
A model for the continuous assessment of acquired skills will be implemented, through the observation and recording of information, regarding not only the aspects of performance at the level of scientific competence, but also for parameters such as attendance and punctuality, commitment and effective participation in teaching activities, individual and group work, spirit of cooperation and mutual assistance, among others. It is also expected that, at the end of the training, all trainees will undertake a written assessment test, subject to a minimum grade, in order to obtain a qualification certificate.
Present at the ceremony were, the Ambassador of Portugal, Manuel Gonçalves de Jesus, the Ambassador of Brazil, José Amir da Costa and the Priest from Becora, Nelson Gonçalves, SDB.