Demographic and Health Survey 2009-10 - Timor-Leste Ministry of ...

The GAR at the primary school level is 100 percent. The distribution shows that both the
NAR and GAR are much lower at the secondary school level: 45 percent of students age 12-17 who
should be attending secondary school are in school (NAR). The GAR for secondary school is 69
percent. A UNESCO report in 2008 estimated that the GER (gross enrollment ratio) in secondary
school in 2005 was 53 percent (UNESCO, 2009).
The results show that the NARs for females and males are similar in primary school. In
secondary school, the NAR for females (48 percent) is only slightly higher than for males (43
percent), suggesting that there is not much of a gender gap in school attendance in Timor-Leste. The
GAR at primary level is slightly higher for males than females, however, indicating relatively higher
over-age or under-age attendance among males compared with attendance among females.
School attendance ratios at both the primary and secondary levels are lower in rural than in
urban areas. For instance, the NAR at the primary school level in rural areas is 69 percent compared
with 78 percent in urban areas. Similarly, the GAR at the secondary school level is 62 percent in rural
areas, compared with 92 percent in urban areas. Regional differences are obvious for the NAR and
GAR at the primary school levels, with attendance ratios being notably lower in Ermera and Oecussi
compared with all other districts. The GAR at the secondary school level is especially low for Oecussi
(42 percent).
There is a strong relationship between household economic status and school attendance that
can be seen at both the primary and secondary levels and among males and females. For example, the
NAR for primary school increases from 59 percent among students from poorer households (lowest
wealth quintile) to 82 percent among pupils from richer households (highest wealth quintile).
The Gender Parity Index (GPI) represents the ratio of the NAR (or GAR) for females to the
NAR (or GAR) for males. It is presented in Table 2.5 at both the primary and secondary levels and
offers a summary measure of gender differences in school attendance rates. A GPI of less than 1
indicates that a smaller proportion of females than males attends school. In Timor-Leste, the GPI for
the GAR is almost 1 (0.99) for primary school attendance and slightly higher than 1 (1.02) for
secondary school attendance, indicating the virtual non-existence of a gender gap in education in the
country.
2.3.1 Grade Repetition and Dropout Rates
According to UNESCO, 16 percent of children in Timor-Leste repeat grades, 25 percent drop
out, and only 46 percent reach Grade 6 (UNESCO, 2009). At the pre-secondary level the completion
rate is 49 percent, and among all children age 12 to 14 years in the country, only 28 percent of them
complete the pre-secondary level, indicating a considerable number of dropouts.
The 2009-10 TLDHS also assessed grade repetition and dropout rates. Table 2.6 presents
these rates for the de facto household population age 5-24 who attended primary school in the
previous school year. Repetition and drop-out rates describe the flow of pupils through the
educational system. Repetition rates indicate the percentage of pupils who attended a particular class
during the previous school year who are repeating that grade in the current school year; that is, they
attended the same grade during the 2009-10 academic year as they had attended during the 2008-09
year 1 . Dropout rates show the percentage of pupils who attended class during the 2008-09 academic
year but who did not attend school the following year. Repetition and dropout rates approach zero
when pupils nearly always progress to the next grade at the end of the school year. They often vary
across grades, indicating points in the school system where pupils are not regularly promoted to the
next grade or they decide to drop out of school.
1 The TLDHS covered the academic years 2007-08 as previous and 2008-09 as current for households
interviewed in academic year 2008-09. Similarly, for households interviewed in 2009-10 the current academic
year was considered as 2009-10 and the previous as 2008-09. The tabulation takes this into account.
20 | Household Population and Housing Characteristics