A key mode of control over the Tibetan identity and culture by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government that occupies Tibet is education.
Education systems form a foundation of knowledge for people that they will carry throughout their lives. Language, history, and culture help people to understand the society in which they live and form a sense of identity.
In Tibet, Tibetan-language education, through schools and monasteries, has been a key part of childrens’ development. Now these education systems are being placed under ever-tighter control.
Policies introduced by regional and national governments have sought to place heavy restrictions on independent Tibetan schools, forcing all classes to be given in Chinese language instead of Tibetan, and accusing monastic schools of ‘brainwashing’ their students.
The ultimate end of these restrictions for some schools is total shutdown.
Here we highlight some of the schools across Tibet that have been forced to close since 2008, depriving Tibetan children of an education in their own language and on their own terms.
School children from Sengdruk Tatkse School. (Photo: The Joru Foundation)
SENGDRUK TAKTSE LOBLIN
Founded: 1998
Shut: 2021
On 8 July 2021, a week after the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) centenary, Sengdruk Taktse Middle School, was closed without providing any official clarification and all the students were told to enrol in other government-affiliated schools in the region.
The school was founded on the principles of providing vital education to the destitute, orphaned, and those without the means to access formal schooling. However, despite desperate pleas to the local government, the school was forced to shut regardless.
With many of the students at Sengdruk Taktse Middle School being orphans, they have since struggled to access state education. The Tibetan school provided them with a fixed address that allowed them necessary identity papers to access public services.
Teachers were also threatened by Chinese authorities following the shutdown. One such teacher, Rinchen Kyi, was held in police custody for eight months before being released due in part to an international campaign which Free Tibet helped organise.
Khandrul Jigme Kunsang Gyaltsen giving a speech during Sengdruk Taktse Lobling’s 2020 graduation ceremony. (Photo Radio Free Asia)
NYISHUR LING
Founded: 2003
Shut: 2013
In April 2013, Nyishur Ling (later forcibly renamed to Malho Chentsa Vocational School) in Chentsa County, was shut by authorities following the arrest of one of the school’s teachers for alleged involvement in political activities.
The school aimed to provide an education to impoverished Tibetans, and had roughly 70 students at the time of its closure.
No official reason was given for the shutdown, however, prior to the schools closure, a teacher named Phakpa, with a background of study in India, was jailed for 13 years for unspecified political activities.
Other teachers at the school were also interrogated by police, however no other arrests were made.
The school initially focused on teaching Tibetan language to poor and orphaned Tibetans, however the curriculum was expanded in 2007 to cover traditional Tibetan medicine.
Founder of Ragya school Jigme Gyaltsen offering a farewell khata onto a snow lion at the entrance gate.
RAGYA GANGJONG SHERIG NORBU LING
Founded: 1994
Shut: 2024
On 12 April 2024, Ragya Gangjong Sherig Norbu Ling received a written notice to shut down their school. The order to close came shortly after an ultimatum was issued to the school’s founder: hand over the school to the Chinese government, or see it closed forever.
The school was being pressured into teaching in Chinese, rather than Tibetan, language for many years prior to the closure.
The school’s founder, Jigme Gyaltsen, has since been censored on Chinese social media, despite appearing to try and calm tensions by claiming that the school was not closed due to a misuse of government power.
Teachers, including Jigme Gyaltsen, have been the subject of arbitrary police investigations leading up to and following the school’s closure. Jigme Gyaltsen himself was absolved of corruption allegations in court one month prior to the shutdown.
What was supposed to be a joyous graduation event, was instead tinged with sadness when the school finally closed its doors in July 2024. In a photo shared on WeChat, Jigme Gyaltsen can be seen offering a khata, a Tibetan ceremonial scarf, as a farewell onto a snow lion statue that flanked the entrance of the school gate.
Tibetan locals demolish the Gaden Rabten Namgyal Ling school.
GADEN RABTEN NAMGYAL LING
Founded: 2014
Shut: 2021
In late October 2021, Chinese authorities in Drago County ordered the demolition of Gaden Rabten Namgyal Ling school at Drago Monastery.
Monastery officials were told to demolish the school within three days, or have the Chinese government seize the land it was built on. With a sudden and tight deadline, the community came together to dismantle the school that had served the community for seven years.
Authorities alleged that the demolition was ordered as the buildings infringed upon local land-use laws.
The school offered a broad curriculum aiming to blend traditional and modern education for Drago Monastery’s young monks, including Tibetan, Chinese, and English language classes.
The demolition of Gaden Rabten Namgyal Ling school deprived some 130 students of vital education and cultural-religious experience.
Monks enter the main gate at Taktsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery.
BUDDHIST SCHOOL OF TAKTSANG LHAMO KIRTI MONASTERY
Founded: 2003
Shut: Expected Autumn 2024
The closure of Tibetan independent schools remains ongoing.
In July 2024, 300 monastic students of the Taktsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery Buddhist school in Dzoge County were ordered to disrobe and join government-run schools, putting aside any religious education.
Parents of the students were forced to sign a document that cited the Chinese law on the protection of minors, committing them to enrol their children at government schools starting in September 2024, and barring them from enrolling their children in the monastery until they are 18.
Dzoge County authorities have claimed that monastic education is a form of ‘brainwashing’, and is cracking down on Buddhist schools.
While the school has not shut down yet, the loss of students and continued pressure from the local authorities place it at risk of closure. With the loss of 300 young students, there are only around 200 monastic students left at the school who are not minors.
Sources expect that the school will close in autumn 2024.
