Dili, July 9, 2025 (Média Democracia) – The Ministry of Education (ME), in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), facilitated training for 24 school superintendents and inspectors from Dili Municipality, focusing on the development of the school inspection system to improve the quality of education in Timor-Leste. The training was held on Tuesday at Hotel Timor in Dili.
In an interview, Acting Minister of Education and current Secretary of State for General Secondary and Technical Vocational Education, Domingos Lemos Lopes, stated that this initiative demonstrates a strong commitment and clear vision from the General Inspection to drive positive changes in the education system, recognizing that inspection is a crucial pillar of quality education.
“We must ensure that schools are implementing the curriculum properly, managing resources efficiently, and creating safe and supportive environments for students to learn. Inspection is not just about identifying mistakes, but also about recognizing challenges, sharing best practices, and providing necessary support to schools to improve their performance,” said Secretary of State Domingos Lemos Lopes during the event at Novo Turismo Hotel Lesidere.
He added that in today’s digital era, technology cannot be left behind. The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the inspection process is not a luxury, but a necessity for the new system.
“It is expected that the inspection process will become more efficient in data collection and reporting, reducing time and manual work, minimizing human error in data transcription, and ensuring accurate, reliable, and transparent information. This will provide decision-makers with near real-time data to support a more open and accountable system,” he explained.
He also stated that future policy decisions will be based on concrete evidence and data analysis, not merely general observations. This initiative is an investment in the development of human resource capacities within the Ministry of Education.
“Our inspectors and administrators will gain essential digital skills that are critical for 21st-century service,” said Domingos Lemos Lopes.
He encouraged all participants, particularly inspectors and superintendents, to take full advantage of this opportunity, as they are key agents of change on the ground.
UNICEF Education Chief in Timor-Leste, Umasree Polepeddi, emphasized that based on her experience as an educator, it is crucial to improve education quality by ensuring that inspectors understand their roles better and build on their existing skills and experiences through trainings like this.
“We know that the role of inspectors is vital to ensuring quality teaching and learning. Understanding how teachers learn and improve is closely linked to the supervision provided by school inspectors,” said Umasree Polepeddi.
She explained that the three-day training uses the “Cover Tool” to help school inspectors deliver more accurate and useful information to improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools.
“I hope that this training will bring concrete results and improvements in how we deliver future trainings. I encourage all of you to make the most of this training so that we can collectively contribute to enhancing education quality in Timor-Leste,” she concluded.
Sub-Inspector from the Ministry of Education, Rodolfo Aparicio, added that this ICT training is part of the collaboration with UNICEF to support inspectors in effectively monitoring teaching and learning in the field.
“This ICT training for school inspectors is designed to support the future monitoring of teaching and learning activities in schools. Inspectors will use tablets to monitor each teacher within their assigned areas across Timor-Leste. It is an exciting development to strengthen monitoring systems,” said Rodolfo Aparicio.
The General Inspection also works closely with competent directorates to ensure that in the future, the inspection system will focus on the use of tablets to oversee and monitor the performance of executives.
Report: Dominga
Photo: Domingas