National University of Timor-Leste
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Established | 2000 |
| Rector | Aurélio Guterres |
| Location | Dili, East Timor |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Website | www.untl.edu.tl |
The National University of East Timor (Portuguese: Universidade Nacional de Timor Lorosa'e; Tetum: Universidade Nasionál Timór Lorosa'e), based in the East Timorese capital Dili, is the major institution of higher education in East Timor.
The university has its roots in the Universitas Timor Timur (UNTIM). UNTIM was private and the only university in East Timor. It was housed in a small complex of interlinked buildings opposite the public library in Dili. UNTIM's Agriculture College was located in Hera, a small village in the hills six kilometers east of Dili.
There was no university under the Portuguese, who ruled East Timor until 1975. A handful of students studied in Portugal and later formed the core of the nationalist movement that emerged in the mid-1970s.
The establishment of the university in 1986, under Indonesian rule, was made possible through the efforts of Mário Viegas Carrascalão, then-Governor of Indonesian-occupied East Timor, and the Loro Sae Foundation.
The university existed largely to train middle-level administrators, agricultural extension workers and secondary school teachers. It was not a research institution and critical and analytical thought was not encouraged. Professional courses such as architecture, law and medicine were not taught. The study of English was carefully controlled and international contacts discouraged. Only a tiny minority used computers. Indonesian history was taught but little about other countries in the region.
Aid for tertiary education was largely for scholarships in East Timor and abroad, rather than improving overall teacher training or curriculum. Many students traveled abroad for their tertiary education, largely to Indonesia. There were problems of language and often undergraduates were unable to meet overseas entry requirements.
...
Wikipedia