Signing Grant Agreement between UNESCO and KOICA for Education Response to COVID-19 to Strengthen the National Capacity in Educational Broadcasting System in Timor-Leste
UNESCO and Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) have strengthened the long-term partnership through a mutual agreement for Basic Science Education Project (2020-2021) in Timor-Leste with technical and financial supports respectively.
The project is part of UNESCO-KOICA’s cooperative Education Response to COVID-19. Mr. Sik-hyun Kim, the Country Representative of KOICA Country Office in Timor-Leste, and Dr. Shahbaz Khan, the Director and Representative of UNESCO Jakarta office have signed on Grant Arrangement through a virtual meeting on 19 November 2020.
In his remark, Mr. Sik-hyun Kim appreciates the significance of the project to the continuity of education in Timor-Leste during the COVID-19 situation and hope the cooperation can strengthen partnership for both organization and Timor-Leste as implementing country. Dr. Shahbaz Khan, in his remarks, expressed that UNESCO will continue to strengthen technical skills and work together with education network in the region to bring education in Timor-Leste to higher level, especially in learning Basic Science.
The new project aims at strengthening the National Capacity of Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) enabling Basic Education School-aged children and youth’s continuity of learning through distance learning opportunities during and post COVID-19 in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport in Timor-Leste. As a continuation from UNESCO’s previous project on Basic Education in Timor-Leste titled “Quality Education for All: The provision of national textbooks student workbook, teacher guidebook and teacher trainings for 3rd cycle Math and Science in Timor-Leste” which was implemented in 2014 to 2018, this project is expected to support the achievement of Sustainability Goal 4 in Quality Education.
In consideration of the current unprecedented disruption of the Pandemic, this project expects its significant impacts to both teachers and students facing considerable teaching and learning challenges across the country in Timor-Leste.