At the start of this Report, you will read about some of the challenges that Fr Hyoe Murayama SJ, Director of Our Lady of Fatima parish secondary school in Railaco is addressing.
At Nossef, we are successful in overcoming so much of the disadvantage that Fr Hyoe shares with us, not only with pursuit of academic excellence, but ensuring the benefits of a holistic Jesuit education that cares for each student’s personal development and promotion of their human dignity.
In this, formation of teachers is critical!
St Canice’s provides salaries for 16 specially trained teachers . . . with remarkable results – Last year, all 99 students in Year 12 at NOSSEF passed the national exams. 60% were girls! Empowering women transforms communities across generations . . . It’s immense social change – transitional.
Education does not produce immediate results in
one go, particularly in a country that is facing
challenges in basic education and parenting
education. I hope our current graduates will
become good parents who can raise children well-
rounded in terms of intelligence and personality.
And when the next generations study at this future
NOSSEF, I believe they will have greater impact
for the sustainable development of Timor-Leste.
Without this intermediate process, I’m afraid future
generations will lose out on the Catholic faith and
authentic personal and community growth.
Authentic education gradually creates true freedom
and maturity to adapt to changing times without
losing sight of unchanging values. I don’t oppose
producing results with calculable effectiveness, and
it is still important to “form useful individuals for
society.” However, it is also essential to yield fruits,
to “educate persons who can transform society,”
which is compatible with effectiveness or
efficiency.