University History Index

A classroom in the UNTIM buildings - many still used for classes since being gutted in 1999

East Timor is one of the world's poorest nations. Education is important for East Timor because it is the lack of people with the expertise and technical skills to rebuild a country, virtually from scratch, that remains the most critical stumbling block for development.

East Timor is a poor nation in financial terms, but the poverty of the country's human resource is of far greater significance. For East Timor to become strong and self-reliant, a long-term commitment to enriching its human resources has to be made.

Pre-Independence

The Universitas Timor Timur (UNTIM) was a private university, the only university in East Timor. It was housed in a small complex of interlinked buildings opposite the Public Library in Dili:   [read more]

Destruction

In September 1999 when the Indonesian military and their militia rampaged through East Timor destroying vital infrastructure, the education system was a major target for destruction. This was known as the Scorched Earth Operation:   [read more]

Student Activities

The Timorese student associations that had been formed on the UNTIM campus and within Indonesia (ETSCC, IMPETTU and RENETIL) became the mainstay of the pro-independence campaign for the ballot and continued to be active afterwards. They have become key organisations of Timorese civil society:   [read more]

Post-Independence

East Timor's new national university is seen as the country's hope for the future. Its existence is an amazing accomplishment:   [read more]

History of the Tertiary Education Sector in East Timor

A printable version of the history of the former University (UNTIM), the Polytechnic, the new University (UNTL), their libraries and student activities:   [read more]