The Deputy Minister for Education Dulce de Jesus Soares says she’s concerned about the number of illiterate primary school students.
She said she became worried after a monitoring trip to schools.
“I found in many schools I visited some students could not read,” she said.
She urged teachers to focus their efforts to ensure their charges could read.
The Ministry of Education has been reviewing the primary school literacy and numeracy curriculum since 2013.
Alola Fundasaun education program manager Ema de Souso Freitas said students needed quality teachers.
“The Ministry of Education should provide information for teachers on how best to teach their students,” Sousa said.
Escola Padre teacher Igilda Madalena Soares said parents needed to contribute to their children’s education.
“We really need parents’ help to teach the children at home since they spend a lot of their time at home,” she said.
