Reliable evidence is needed to designpolicies that will allow overcoming Timor-Leste'sremaining challenges in provision of quality education. Inrecent post-conflict years, aided by availability of oilrevenues, Timor-Leste has been able to considerably improveavailability of schools and access to education. This reportpresents findings of the 2012 Education Survey,collaboration between the Ministry of Education, theNational Directorate of Statistics, AusAID and the WorldBank. The survey collected detailed information at allprimary, pre-secondary and secondary schools in the country.Its objectives were to support the improvement ofTimor-Leste's education quality and service deliverythrough building a solid information source and analyticalfoundation which will allow for sound, evidence-based policymaking. The survey results indicate that student absenteeismshould be a major cause for concern. More than one third ofgrade one students were absent from school on the day of thesurvey, in some districts it was half or even more.Education levels of primary school teachers are low, withthe majority only having secondary education. For 71 percentof primary school teachers the highest level of education issecondary school, for 6 percent it is even lower. Bothdemand and supply side interventions are needed to tacklethe challenges faced. Some key policy areas should be: 1)improving school attendance through creating appropriatedemand-side incentives; 2) enhancing teacher quality; 3)strengthening instruction language policy; 4) improvingeducation system management; 5) improving schoolinfrastructure and learning environment; and 6) ensuringadequate supply of textbooks.
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