Timor-Leste breaks ground on 14 public preschools for rural children in Bobonaro and Baucau

Timor-Leste has started building 14 public preschools in rural villages in the municipalities of Bobonaro and Baucau, UNICEF Timor-Leste said on 30 October. A groundbreaking ceremony in Bobonaro marked the start of construction, and the first classrooms are expected within a few months.

29% of young children in preschool

The schools are meant to close a big gap. Only 29% of children of preschool age are enrolled, according to 2025 data from the country's Education Management Information System, and the government aims to reach 60% by 2028. The Ministry of Education chose villages with at least 50 children as possible sites, and local communities contributed the land.

“Preschool Education is the foundation of all education to come.” — Rodolfo Aparicio, General Deputy Inspector, Ministry of Education

“In most villages, because of the lack of preschools, early childhood education is mostly community-based,” said Domingos Belo Soares, national director of preschool education. The new buildings are part of a four-year project called For Every Child, Early Childhood Care and Education in Timor-Leste, which covers early childhood care as well as education. UNICEF's deputy representative Teija Vallandingham and KOICA's country director Younhwa Kang attended the ceremony.

Funded by South Korea

The project is supported by the government of the Republic of Korea through its development agency KOICA, which provides financial and technical support, with the Ministry of Education and UNICEF. “Building these 14 preschools marks an important step toward providing children with safer” places to learn, said Ha Yeon Chang, South Korea's ambassador to Timor-Leste. Minister of Education Dulce de Jesus Soares also backed the project.

Teachers and inspectors lined up

Buildings alone do not make a school. The government has recruited 200 teachers from outside the two municipalities to work in the new preschools. “We will have engineers to monitor the construction of the preschools and also regular visits by school inspectors,” said Apolinario Serpa Rosa, director general for preschools. Inspectors will report monthly to the ministry and to community leaders.

UNICEF did not say how many children the 14 schools will serve in total, or when all of them are due to open. Timor-Leste recently also brought Elsewhere in the country, on Atauro island, solar power now keeps vaccines cold and a clinic running.