Social Justice and Education for All: The Case of Multilingualism and Language Policies in Timor-Leste

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss theories of justice and equal access to education in a society (Apple; Buras, 2008; Bourdieu, 1999b; Bauman; May, 2010; Freire; Macedo, 2011; Giroux, 1986) and apply these theories to linguistic issues in the Timorese education system. Following independence and the drafting of the Constitution (2002), Tetum (the national and indigenous language) and Portuguese (the colonial and exogenous language) were formalized and regulated as instructional languages in all schools through the Education Law (2008). The adopted language policy has never been unanimous, and as a result, despite being a young state, Timor-Leste has undergone several changes in the linguistic planning of the Ministry of Education. The latest intervention and attempt to change is multilingual literacy, given that the territory comprises at least 16 distinct ethnolinguistic groups. We discuss here the sociological implications of this new proposal and evaluate, according to the theories discussed, whether multilingual literacy can indeed reduce inequality in access to school and academic knowledge and achieve greater empowerment of children and youth in rural and remote areas of the country. We conclude that the frequent changes over a short period of time have generated frustrations and mistrust among teachers, students, parents, and education managers regarding the competence of the Ministry of Education. Thus, we infer that these frequent changes have been more detrimental to the education system than the adoption of an exogenous language as the language of instruction, as commonly believed.