On 5 June 2025, our kindergarten in Kot’olin received its operating permit, known as the izin operasional. After more than a year of gathering documents, arranging recommendations and following up with the authorities in Timor Tengah Selatan, it was a moment of relief and an important milestone for our school.
A Checklist Was Just the Beginning
The process began on 2 March 2024, when we received a list of eight requirements. We set about preparing the documents, hoping this would give us a clear path through the application.
After we submitted them, further requirements followed. We needed additional supporting documents and recommendation letters, and some requests required clarification before we could respond. There were more conversations, more paperwork and a visit to the school as the application progressed.
The people we dealt with were very friendly and helpful, and we appreciated their support. The difficulty lay in navigating a process that, from our experience, was slow and complicated. It was not always clear at the outset what would be needed, so completing one step did not necessarily mean we were ready for the next.
For a small school in a remote location, each additional step takes time and coordination. Receiving the permit brought this lengthy application process to a successful conclusion. We are grateful to our team and to the officials who helped us along the way.
Accreditation: A Separate Step
The operating permit is distinct from accreditation. We also began exploring the accreditation process, which brought a different set of demands.
Members of our team had to attend meetings and events away from the school. With a small teaching staff, having several people away at once made it difficult to keep lessons running. Travel from our remote location added to the time involved. On some occasions, we even had to close the school temporarily.
We then received a 25-page checklist containing several hundred points. The level of detail and the amount of work involved were far greater than we had anticipated.
Giving Each Step the Time It Needs
I found the scale of these administrative demands overwhelming. Our school was still taking shape, and our team was working hard to give the children consistent teaching and care. Preparing for accreditation alongside that daily work was more than we felt able to take on at that stage.
After discussing it as a team, we decided to leave accreditation for a later round. That would give us time to prepare more thoroughly and plan how to manage the workload while maintaining the school’s daily routines.
Receiving the operating permit was an achievement worth celebrating. It also reminded us how much work happens beyond the classroom to keep a school moving forward, and how carefully a small team has to balance that work with being there for the children each day.