The National University of East Timor (UNTL; ; Tetum: Universidade Nasionál Timór Lorosa'e), is a public university in East Timor, the only one of its kind in the country. Founded in 2000, as a result of the nation's independence, its history can be traced, through the Faculty of Education, to the Portuguese colonial period, when the first public higher schools prepared for teachers appeared. With six campuses, nine colleges and seven research centers, it is the largest Timorese university in terms of the number of students, university professors and budget. Forming the country's intellectual elite, it is also a national reference in teaching, research and extension, the tripods of higher education. In 2017, the university was classified by the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities as the best university in its country. It is a multilingual university, being the largest research center in Tetum, one of the two official languages of East Timor, but its classes are taught primarily in Portuguese. It has its headquarters in the city of Dili, the national capital. History Pre-Independence The history of higher education in the country began in the time of Portuguese Timor, when on May 15, 1965, through Ordinance No. 3616, by governor José Alberty Correia, the Teacher Training School Engº Canto Resende (also called Dili Post School; in portuguese: Escola de Habilitação de Professores Engº Canto Resende-EHPECR) was created, who should be concerned with the training of primary school teachers, with specialization in Portuguese language and basic calculations. On May 24, 1975, the Teacher Training School Engº Canto Resende was extinguished, giving way to the General Course of Teaching and Training of Teachers of Preparatory Education (in portuguese: Curso Geral de Magistério e Formação de Professores do Ensino Preparatório); when the invasion of Indonesia occurred on December 7, 1975, the General Course was closed and teacher training in Timorese territory was interrupted. With the extinction of the only higher school in Timor, the island was left without training of minimum teaching staff, including for teaching Indonesian (the only official language allowed after the occupation), a fact that led the Indonesian government to recreate, in 1979, the General Course in its old structure, under the name Educational Course for Teachers; the institution was fully transferred to UnTim when it was created, constituting the Faculty of Education. Indonesian administration On October 1, 1986, in the midst of Indonesian occupation, on the initiative of the