Maharlika International School

HISTORY

Maharlika International School (MIS) formerly known as Dili Education & Development Center (DEDC) was established in 2008 by its Founder and Executive Director, MARTIN BANAKEN PAPAY, JR. He believed that “All men have the inherent right to quality and affordable education of which should be accessible to all.” With this philosophy in mind, he was persistent in his plan to provide affordable quality education in an enriched and stable learning environment to the community here in Timor-Leste primarily to the dependents of Overseas Filipino Workers, the Timorese youths and other foreign nationals. He is very confident that their child/ children can be admitted to any public and private schools should they wish to continue their studies in the Philippines, thereby providing all of them the opportunity to join the mainstream Philippine education. MIS became the definite choice in the community especially those who are looking for a quality and comprehensive education but that which is not with pressing financial obligation.

On September 8, 2008, the school started out with humble beginnings in a small house at Fomento 1, Comoro in Dili, Timor-Leste with only six (6) enrollees. The initial programs offered were Kindergarten 1 & 2 for the Preparatory Program, Grade 1 & Grade 4 for the Elementary Program and a Certificate in English Language Course. The first school year ended with a total of twenty-one (21) learners; seven (7) pupils in the preparatory program, four (4) in Grade 1, one (1) in Grade 4 including one (1) student studying via online, and seven (7) Timorese Nationals in the English Language Course.

On March 4, 2009, MIS was issued with a license to operate from the Ministry of Tourism, Commerce & Industry of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste with registration number LPA 06181MTCI/III/2009. DEDC was renamed MIS in compliance with the requirement on the registration of the school’s Articles of Ownership with the Department of Registry & Notary Public of the Ministry of Justice of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. The new name of the school was unveiled during the celebration of its 2nd Foundation Day on September 8, 2010 at the MIS ground.

MIS paved its way to establish an excellent reputation and received overwhelming trust and support from the parents. They shared the vision that the school will be accredited by the Ministry of Education of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste once a system of accreditation for international schools will be in place. Parents of Filipino students having realized the importance of education overseas or back at home also urged the school to apply for accreditation from the Department of Education (DepEd) in the Philippines. It is for this reason that the Founder and Executive Director lobbied his school to be a member of the Philippine Schools Overseas (PSO). Hence, in School Year 2009-2010, the Basic Education Curriculum (BEC) of DepEd was adapted to provide greater chances for Filipino students to be officially admitted and promoted to the next level when they transfer in any school in the Philippines. Thus, there is no need for them to undergo revalidation or re-evaluation once the school will be accredited by DepEd as a PSO.

On April 30, 2010, MIS transferred to its new location in Rua Fatuhada to accommodate the fast-growing number of students. Additional buildings were constructed in response to the positive feedback of the populace as evident in its increasing number of enrollees.

On January 3, 2011, DepEd granted MIS a provisional permit to adapt the Philippine Curriculum for Pre-School and Elementary Levels. On July 19-23 of the same year, two (2) officials from DepEd in Manila (Bureau of Secondary Education and Bureau of Elementary Education) visited MIS for the ocular inspection and verification for the school’s next stage of accreditation as a PSO. The parents had their chance to meet the officials and were clarified on some issues and concerns on the school’s accreditation prior to their return to Manila, Philippines.

Further, on October 10, 2012, the DepEd granted MIS a provisional permit to adopt the Philippine Curriculum for Secondary Level. MIS’ provisional permit to adopt the Philippine Curriculum for Preparatory, Elementary and Secondary Levels was then renewed in the succeeding school years with its latest provisional permit dated July 11, 2018 after the online ocular inspection conducted by the Department of Education of the Republic of the Philippines on March 27, 2018. The said online ocular inspection was witnessed by Mr. Rosendo Rodriguez as the representative of the Department of Foreign Affairs from the Philippine Embassy in Dili, East Timor.

Few months after having successfully passed the online ocular inspection, MIS was then eligible to be issued by DepEd with a School Identification with Number 700018 being one of the DepEd’s authorized school in the basic education system. Consequently, MIS was also granted the authority to encode in the DepEd’s Learner Information System (LIS) for all of its pupils and students to be issued with the Learners Reference Number (LRN) which shall be used throughout their entire basic education program regardless of transfer of school or learning center and promotion/ moving up to the secondary level in any accredited public or private Philippine Schools. As of August 22, 2018, MIS is the 18th PSO granted with a School I.D. No. among the thirty-seven (37) Philippine Schools Overseas operating in ten (10) countries reported by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) as of 2014 namely in Bahrain, China, East Timor, Greece and Oman with one (1) PSO, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with nineteen (19) PSOs, Kuwait and Qatar with two (2) PSOs, United Arab Emirates with six (6) PSOs, and Libya with three (3) PSOs.

On August 24, 2018, Marty Robin Shane Batchi Papay, one of the first batch of alumni of MIS had already graduated in college with the Degree of Bachelor Science in Management Accounting (BSMA). He was in Grade IV when he started his studies at MIS way back in School Year 2008-2009 until Grade 8 of School Year 2011-2012. Marty is currently pursuing his professional education being one of requirements for him to qualify and take the Licensure Examination for Teachers to become a Licensed Professional Teacher similar to his father. His graduation is a memorable one because on the same day, the Founder, Executive Director and Chief Internal Auditor of MIS also finished his second Masteral Degree, Master of Arts in Education (MAEd) Major in Educational Management.

To date, MIS was also granted by DepEd with a permit to adopt its curriculum in the Senior High School Program for General Academic Strand with DepEd permit No. 2 s. 2019. MIS’s preparatory program is already accredited by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the host country, East Timor and the accreditation for elementary, junior and senior high school programs are ongoing.

VISION

Maharlika International School envisions itself as a Philippine School Overseas that nurtures, develops, and equips life-long learners who are God-loving, service-oriented, excellence-driven and values-laden to respond to the demands and challenges of the world and be agents to its positive social transformation.

MISSION

To provide quality, comprehensive, transformative, and culture-based education; MIS sets itself in offering a balanced curriculum that promotes holistic development of learners who are constantly nurtured, developed and equipped in a positive, friendly, safe and motivating learning environment in which their education is facilitated by excellent and motivated teachers who are empowered by competent administrators and staff with the active participation of the community and other stakeholders.