W-10 Philippines and East Timor : History, Present Reality and its crusade with Education

Abstract

The Philippines as well as East Timor have their own tradition and history of education. Both countries come from a colonial background, however the Philippines have a longer and more developed educational system. The half-island Southeast Asian country Timor Leste "East Timor" has only been recorded in history since the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century. Timor Leste had to struggle against foreign occupation ending with its declaration of independence from Indonesia in 2002. After the bloody sequels of 2006 the young independent country's economy is now showing recovery. Poor education has been identified as one of the biggest concerns by the government. The Education System had almost been brought to its knees due to the effects of historical, political and economic issues. This paper has the intention to give an approach, later on compare the two systems and find common points where the experience of the Philippines could serve as a model for East Timor education.