Timor-Leste
Timor-Leste Launches National Technical Working Group to Develop Teacher Competency Framework
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TIMOR-LESTE. UNESCO (22 December 2025) - The Government of Timor-Leste, with support from UNESCO, UNICEF, and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), officially launched the National Technical Working Group (TWG) on 17 December 2025. The group will lead the development of a Teacher Competency Framework (TCF) designed to improve educator quality and student learning outcomes nationwide.
While Timor-Leste has expanded access to education, student learning results remain a challenge. Low literacy and numeracy rates continue to contribute to high repetition and dropout rates, underscoring the need for stronger, more coherent systems to support teacher development. In response, the Government has prioritized teacher professional development under its Five-Year Programme (2023–2028).
Currently, Timor-Leste’s Teaching Career Regime outlines general expectations related to language, subject knowledge, pedagogy, and ethics. However, the absence of clear, progressive standards for different career stages has made it difficult to link teacher recruitment, training and professional development to structured career progression.
During the inaugural meeting, members reviewed the draft framework’s alignment with the Southeast Asia Teacher Competency Framework (SEA-TCF) and agreed on priority actions for 2026. Participants stressed that the final framework must be "context-responsive" and reflect the daily realities of Timorese classrooms.
Today’s meeting marks the official launch of the National Technical Working Group for the Teacher Competency Framework. As members, you play a critical role in guiding the validation, socialization, and eventual implementation of the framework, so that it can be applied coherently across all levels of education, from pre-school to secondary and higher education.
- Ms. Odilia Ung MartinsGeneral Director of Policy, Planning, Inclusion, and Technology, Ministry of Education.
Speaking during the meeting, Domingus Martins, President of the National Teacher Training Institute (INFORDEPE), also underscored the central role of teachers in education quality.
The quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers. Teachers are at the heart of learning, shaping not only students’ academic achievement but also their values, skills, and future opportunities. This message strongly resonates with today’s discussion.
The establishment of Technical Working Group builds on foundational work supported by UNESCO since 2022 through the Shanghai Funds-in-Trust Teacher Professionalization Project. As part of this effort, a situational analysis of teaching standards was conducted in partnership with key national stakeholders including the Ministry of Education, INFORDEPE (The National Teacher Training Institute) and National University of Timor-Leste (one of the pre-service teacher training providing institutions), providing an evidence base and a roadmap for the development of the draft Teacher Competency Framework.
The TWG’s objectives align with the outcomes of the 2025 UNESCO World Summit on Teachers, which emphasized that teacher competency frameworks must (1) cover the full professional lifecycle, (2) be developed through robust consultation with educators, and (3) support equitable deployment of teachers to rural and underserved areas.
The urgency of strengthening the teaching profession is a global priority to achieve quality universal primary and secondary education, including in Timor Leste. Strengthening Teaching Profession requires not only recruiting and deploying more qualified and competent teachers, but also continuous professional development systems and supportive and enabling working environment, which ensures that teachers’ voices are reflected in education policy and decision-making. This is why the Timor-Leste’s Teacher Competency Framework is critical.
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