Dili, June 11, 2026 (Media Democracia) – The Student Academic Association (AAE) of the Faculty of Education and Humanities (FEH), together with students, held a press conference to demand their student rights regarding Pedagogical Practice 2, but they faced obstruction from the Director of the Physics Department.
According to spokesperson Romario Mali Alves, the FEH Student Academic Association serves as the student representative to defend students’ rights and interests. The Association considers students as an important element at UNTL to fulfill the three academic pillars: Study, Research, and Social Control, and seeks to become a center of excellence for Higher Education in Timor-Leste, reflecting its motto “knowledge and truth,” meaning UNTL produces wise people, not liars and manipulators.
“The Faculty of Education, Department of Physics Teaching, annually conducts Pedagogical Practice 2, and the internship program is also a principal component of the academic curriculum. This internship is also a student right with the objective of practicing the theories that students have learned to improve their knowledge and ensure education quality. However, many students have faced obstruction from the Director of the Physics Department in the Faculty of Education.” said spokesperson Romario Mali Alves at UNTL Liceu Campus, (11/06/2026).
He affirmed that the problems the FEH Student Academic Association received from Physics Department students are as follows:
“The Department structure, especially the Physics Director, attempted to falsify the grades of students who were to undertake Pedagogical Practice. Because many students have already passed the course subjects, but when the list of students with pending credits was published, the said subject appeared, and even worse, students who had only one or two failed subjects had the Administration increase it to four or five. Students have fulfilled their duties by attending classes and exams, but grades are still missing in the administration, which prejudices us students from undertaking Pedagogical Practice 2. The Department Director obstructed 25 students from going to internship. Because of the problems we mentioned above, the FEH Student Academic Association and the Physics Department Student Association are not silent on student problems and have consulted with the faculty structure.” he affirmed.
He further underlined that the Association has sought details from the department to provide clarification for students who are to undertake Pedagogical Practice 2, but the Faculty Structure and Department Structure contradict each other, meaning the Director of the Physics Department uses her ignorance and arrogance and refuses to obey the faculty’s decision as the maximum body in the faculty, until no solution is found for the Physics Department students’ problem.
“On June 1, 2026, we met with the Vice-Dean for Academic Affairs and the Vice-Dean stated that UNTL, through its academic regulations, does not limit students from conducting their Pedagogical Practice 2 studies, and Pedagogical Practice 2 is a requirement of the ECTS curriculum that UNTL currently uses. This means all students have the full right to complete their PP2 studies. But in the Physics Department, the Director uses her power to limit 25 students from being able to complete their referred study. This means the Director does not agree with the academic regulations that UNTL has and violates the ECTS system that UNTL currently adopts.” he underlined.
The spokesperson stated that from the problems mentioned above, the real cause is the Department Director using her power to influence the Administration to make students’ grades disappear.
“The Department Director uses her power to influence the Administration to erase student grades and raise or lower students’ grades according to the Director’s will. The Director uses her arrogance and ignorance by not seeking solutions for the problems students face. The Director is incapable and the Director does not understand the regulations and curriculum the university adopts, even violating student rights. With this incapacity of the Director, we see that it will directly affect students’ study process and especially the professional internship program.” he affirmed.
In addition, the students request the Dean of the Faculty of Education and Humanities to immediately resolve this problem so that 62 Physics Department students can undertake Pedagogical Practice. They request the Dean of the Faculty of Education and Humanities (FEH) to pay maximum attention to the 10 Department Directors and Department Administrations, especially the Physics Department, so they do not repeat these immoral and incapable acts.
They request the Magnificent Rector to conduct regular oversight to avoid behaviors intended to degrade and damage UNTL’s dignity in public. If the Department and Faculty structures, including the University, attempt to ignore our demands above within three days, we UNTL students will take peaceful action against the faculty structure by blocking spaces and possibly up to the University structure.
Reporting: Tomás Dos Santos
Photo: Tomás Dos Santos