Tve-t Dili, April 18, 2024 – In a significant move to enhance Timor-Leste’s linguistic development, President J. Ramos-Horta officially opened a socialization seminar on Multilingual Education at the National Institute of Education (INFORDEPE) in Balide, Dili.
The seminar, organized through the Multilingual Education Program of INFORDEPE in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, aims to increase the literacy skills of Timorese citizens throughout their lives in various languages, especially Tetun and Portuguese.
The President of the Republic stated: “Mastering other languages, such as the official language Portuguese and the mother tongue, is very important for our lives and as our identity, and I hope that in the coming years, the Tetun language will become even richer, including our native languages.”
The multilingual education program, which will start from pre-school to higher education levels, is designed to provide students, especially those in rural areas, with a solid foundation in literacy and numeracy by teaching them in the languages they understand best. This approach, as Minister Dulce Soares mentioned, will enable them to make an easier transition to learning the official languages as their second languages.
President Ramos-Horta also spoke about the teachers present, the important role they will play in the success of this initiative. “With the leadership of the Minister of Education, there must be better teacher training, and this technical, scientific, and ideological training is essential, as they will be responsible for the education of our children.”
The opening of this multilingual education program is a significant step in Timor-Leste’s efforts to promote a more inclusive and equitable education system, one that celebrates the country’s linguistic diversity and empowers its citizens to thrive in an increasingly globalized world.
Media PR/Tve-t.
