Lessons From Nepal And Timor-Leste – Analysis – Eurasia Review

By Aung Thet Paing Hmue

Education plays a transformative role in post-conflict recovery, serving not only to rebuild schools but also to foster reconciliation, social cohesion, and sustainable peace.

Key Takeaways:

1. Education reform must go beyond reconstruction to promote trust, identity, and peace-building in divided societies.
2. Inclusive and multilingual education policies, as seen in Nepal and Timor-Leste, are essential for social equity and national cohesion.
3. International partnerships and flexible learning pathways can strengthen resilience, reconciliation, and long-term stability in post-conflict Myanmar.

Conflict and Education

Education is one of the most critical foundations for rebuilding societies after violent conflict. Before rebuilding schooling, education plays a transformative role in fostering reconciliation, social cohesion, and stable peace. Conflict-affected countries face destroyed infrastructure, fractured governance systems, traumatised communities, and politicised curricula. Education recovery is not simply restoring infrastructure but building trust, identity, and inclusive nation-building. 

For Myanmar, with over seven decades of ethnic conflict with a fractured education system, the experience of Nepal and Timor-Leste can give instructive lessons for education recovery. The education recovery method in these countries can outline how Myanmar might rebuild an inclusive, harmonised education that supports federal, inclusive, and peaceful societies for future generations.

Nepal’s education reform

Nepal has been through multiple political transitions: from monarchy to republic, from unitary to federal state. These transitions shaped education reforms and were both targeted by the policy and became a site of contention. The Nepal education sector played a vital role in peace-building and violent prevention by fostering mutual understanding and tolerance during conflict and post-conflict settings. During the Maoist Insurgency from 1996-2006, both the government and the Maoists viewed schools as key sites for propaganda campaigns, which resulted in high dropout rates.

After ending the decade-long conflict in 2006 through the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA), Nepal took the initiative in its education sector, especially in the primary education sector. In 2009, Nepal adopted the School Sector Reform Plan (SSRP) for 2009-2015 as part of a peace dividend with the help of Development Partners. In the SSRP, Nepal ensured equity and social cohesion for disadvantaged groups, including conflict-affected people, by allocating seats for teachers and management positions. As a result, the historically excluded people (Dalits) and indigenous people (Adivasi) got a chance to participate in the education reform sector.

Afterwards, Nepal launched the most transformative policy initiative, the School Sector Development Plan (SSDP) in 2016. The School Sector Development Plan (SSDP) leverages the Nepal education system by increasing enrollment rate, enhancing teacher competency, and strengthening school accountability systems. SSDP also offers scholarships for Dalits and martyrs’ children, and mother-language published textbooks (21 languages), enabling mutual understanding among different ethnic groups and creating harmony among diverse societies. As a result, the literacy rate climbed from a meagre 25% in 1981 to 67% in 2021 due to its educational reforms and initiatives.

Despite several successes, Nepal is facing challenges in constructing a federal education bill for future implementation. In 2023, Nepal’s parliament registeredthe School Education Bill to replace the outdated Education Act of 1971 transitions Nepal into a federal education system. This bill aims to empower local educational autonomy and reconstruct school education with federalism and inclusive education, leading Nepal to commit to its constitutional federal state vision. There are several attempts with multiple introductions and long parliamentary reviews, but they failed to stall due to major stakeholder backlash. Teachers’ unions and federations repeatedly protested, resulting in the closure of public schools in 2023 and again mobilised in 2024-2025.

Timor-Leste’s recovering education

Following the UN-sponsored referendum in 1999, Timor-Leste gained full independence in 2002. Home to 1.4 million people, Timor-Leste was occupied by Indonesia for 24 years and lived under 450 years of Portuguese colonial rule. In 1999, following Timor-Leste’s vote for independence, pro-Indonesian militias destroyed about 90% of schools and educational infrastructure, causing a near-total collapse of the education system. Indonesia invaded Timor-Leste, resultingin a significant loss of 90% of schools and the educational workforce. The post-conflict impacts, including the destruction of infrastructure, large-scale displacement, and interrupted schooling, left the education sector in an extremely fragile state.

Due to the violence unleashed by the Indonesian invasion, a fifth of the population was prevented from finishing basic education. After decades of conflict and instability disruptions, Timor-Leste has implemented structured education policies to foster an inclusive education system that empowers citizens for nation-building and peace and stability. Another challenge in educational reform lies in the insufficient growth rate of the teaching workforce, as teachers are overburdened due to limited resources and increasing classroom sizes.

Timor’s curriculum has developed over time into an indigenous curriculum that focuses on the country’s culture, history, and environment to strengthen Timorese national identity for Timorese. In 2010, the Timorese government, with the help of international organisations, implemented the “Equivalency Education Program”, offering young people and adults the opportunity to pursue education through a condensed curriculum of primary and secondary education. During 2010-2017, the World Bank also funded the Second Chance Education Project, which aimed to help adults complete their basic education, and 197 students had graduated by 2017. These initiatives allow the conflict-affected Timorese population to pursue an accredited education system through a systematic approach.

Language reform is another key component for education reform in Timor-Leste. The Indonesian invasion in 1999 introduced the Indonesian curriculum into Timor to “Indonesianize” the people, and more than 90% of all secondary teachers were Indonesian at that time. After gaining independence, Timor-Leste adoptedTetum as the main language of instruction in the early primary years, gradually incorporating more Portuguese over time. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) conducted Curriculum reform in 2013 for basic education, improving teaching quality and student learning outcomes.

Timor became a full ASEAN member in November 2025 despite its painful history with Indonesia. Timor Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão states that ASEAN can learn “Maybe in peace, and reconciliation dialogue,” from Timor-Leste. Timor-Leste also joined the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) as part of its educational reform. Joining the ASEAN and SEA-PLM can enhance Timor’s strategic educational reforms in adaptations in local languages, Tetum and Portuguese. Education became a key site for national identity, reconciliation, and social cohesion for Timor-Leste, although it is still fragile and in the rebuilding stage.

Peace and reconciliation models stand as a pillar for Timor-Leste’s emerging education policy. Many peace education programs are being implemented with the help of international organisations, including Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light(HPWPL), and UNESCO. HPWL implementation aims to lead Timor Leste’s schools to become a violence-free and peace-promoting environment while UNICEF conducts training for sustaining Peace through transformative education. These programs demonstrate how education can rebuild human capital and promote social cohesion in post-conflict societies.

Recommendations for Myanmar

A future peaceful Myanmar requires an education system that teaches not only literacy and skills, but also dignity and coexistence for all societies. The classroom can become a place where trauma is transformed into resilience with the right strategic implementations.

Lessons from Nepal and Timor-Leste can be used to rebuild the fractured education system due to political instability and conflict-affected settings. Key recommendations for future implementation include:

1. Adopt a federal and inclusive framework: development of federal education law will empower local authorities and democratic education while maintaining national standards, ensuring marginalised people have access and representation in policymaking. 

2. Integrate Peace and Reconciliation in Education: Schools should foster social cohesion through peace education, inter-ethnic dialogue, and conflict-resolution programs.

3. Implement a Multilingual and culturally sensitive curriculum: Incorporate local languages alongside Burmese to improve inclusion and learning outcomes.

4. Provide Flexible Learning Pathways: offer equivalency and second-chance programs for CDM students, displaced children and adults, addressing gaps of conflict and prolonged disruptions.

5. Leverage International Support: Collaborate with international initiatives for technical, financial, and consultative support to adapt reforms strategically.

In this way, Myanmar can transform education into a tool for reconciliation, social cohesion, and human capital development. The new education system will ensure inclusive and peaceful nation-building for future generations and support the country’s long-term vision of federalism and equity for all. 

• About the author: Aung Thet Paing Hmue is a Junior Research Fellow at the Sustainability Lab of the Shwetaungthagathu Reform Initiative Centre (SRIc) with over two years of experience in the humanitarian sector. Currently residing in Thailand, he navigates cross-border challenges while building his professional future.
• Source: This article was published by The Sabai Times