Financing for equity in primary and secondary education
1. Education resources to subnational governments
2. Education resources to schools
3. Education resources to students and families
4. Social policies and family support programmes
Introduction
In Timor-Leste, the Ministry of Education holds primary responsibility for the planning and management of the education system, including human resources, in collaboration with the Civil Service Commission. The Ministry also oversees the allocation of material and financial resources to the education sector. Financial control and monitoring of expenditure execution in schools are delegated to the 13 District Education Directorates, which operate within their respective jurisdictions.
1. Education resources to subnational governments
Law No. 23/2021 (Local Government and Administrative Decentralisation Law) states in Article 41 that municipal bodies are responsible for participating in school network planning, managing educational facilities, investing in the construction, equipping, and maintenance of establishments, overseeing canteen management, supporting complementary educational activities, organising school transport, and coordinating with central administration to ensure the availability, storage, and distribution of school textbooks and teaching materials, among other tasks.
2. Education resources to schools
No information was found regarding the allocation of resources to schools with consideration for equity.
3. Education resources to students and families
Ação Social Escolar (School Social Action)
According to the 2008 Education Framework Law, school social action services aim to support the most economically disadvantaged students through objective and transparent criteria of positive discrimination, in accordance with the law. These services include subsidised school meals, canteen services, school transport, accommodation, textbooks, school materials, and scholarships. The National Directorate for School Social Action (DNASE) is responsible for coordinating these measures and oversees the implementation of the school meals and school transport programmes.
4. Social policies and family support programmes
No information was found regarding social policies and programmes to provide resources to students and their families in Timor-Leste.
5. School meal programmes
Programa da Merenda Escolar (School Meal Programme)
The School Meal Programme, launched in 2005 with WFP support and led by the Ministry of Education since 2012, provides subsidised meals to all students across Timor-Leste, with local governments supervising implementation as per Decree-Law 3/2016. The programme, funded at USD 0.42 per student per school day since 2022, aims to improve nutrition and school attendance without targeting specific groups. In 2023, a recipe book was developed in partnership with WFP, featuring over 65 meals made from locally sourced produce from Timor-Leste’s 13 municipalities, supporting both child nutrition and local agriculture.
