Reported By Kelsang Jinpa
Translated By TenGyal
In 2008, a group of 500 heavily armed Chinese soldiers required seven days to surveil a Tibetan village. By August 2020, after 12 years of advancements, the same task took just seven hours for a similarly sized group.
In a recent lecture organised by the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Professor Gyalo, doctorate of sociology, spoke on “ Education and the Future of Tibetan Society in the Context of the Present Status of Tibet.” Prof. Gyalo iterated that the current Tibetan population in Tibet is now close to 8 million, not 6 million.
Excerpt from Professor Gyal Lo’s Lecture:
“From the era of the Tsenpos, over 4,600 years ago, to the present day, our ancestors have sacrificed their blood, sweat, and tears to preserve and pass down the vast expanse of the Tibetan nation. Since the annexation of Tibet by the People’s Republic of China in 1959, numerous internal and external factors have influenced the ownership, language, and culture of Tibet. However, when it comes down to the core of the matter, the most decisive factor remains the Tibetan people themselves. If we are not able to nurture and develop a capable Tibetan person, we will lose ownership of the land, language and culture of Tibet. The development of a capable Tibetan, in turn, depends on education.
In 1980, many schools were set up in Tibet. All the literate Tibetans took up professions as teachers in these schools. These teachers have, indeed, greatly contributed to the foundation of Tibetan education. Even though the older generation had faithfully advised the general Tibetan public to send their children to these schools, they were unaware of the curriculum, textbooks and the underlying Chinese policies. The Chinese authorities have, from the start, devised far-reaching policies in the form of regulating the curriculum and textbooks in schools.
Only in 1995 did the general Tibetan society come to understand the reality and implications of these regulations and the underlying policies. The most important factor in establishing a school is the regulation of the curriculum control exercised by the Chinese authorities. Since the Chinese authorities have very clearly outlined what curriculum could and could not be taught in schools, it closed the doors for the Tibetan youth to avail a traditional education embedded in Tibetan culture. Even at the height of ‘ the liberal policy’ in China in the 1980s, 90 per cent of the curriculum was mandated to be China-related, and only 10 per cent was related to traditional Tibetan education. After 2018, all Tibetan language curriculums were stopped completely.
Before, Tibetan schools were run and managed by Tibetans. Currently, these schools are under the control and management of China’s United Front Work Department, Public Security Bureau, and Education Department. Schools in other regions of China do not operate under the purview of the United Front Work Department and Public Security Bureau. As such, in Tibetan schools, the Chinese authorities continue to closely monitor and regulate the environment, institutional sovereignty, the curriculum and the language of instructions. Similarly, the United Front Work Department, Religious Affairs Department and the Police Department have started to regulate and monitor the Tibetan monasteries. These measures have been further increased and strengthened from this year.
At the time, the Panchen Lama had founded five teacher training schools in Tibet. Yet, apart from the Tibetan Language and Literature Department, all the other subjects were taught in Mandarin. Since Tibetan Literature and Grammar were among the few subjects available in schools, graduates in these fields often faced limited opportunities and an unfavourable environment for employment within society. These days, many of these graduates are brought to China by local governments, municipal authorities, and collective organisations in Chinese cities for part-time labour. Unfortunately, numerous cases have emerged where these Tibetans are robbed of their belongings and possessions.
On top of regulating the curriculum, the Chinese are translating it entirely into Mandarin. The Tibetan offices in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) and other Autonomous regions have been closed. What China proclaims as ‘Bilingual Education’ is not a genuine bilingual education. In 2018, the “Bilingual Policy” was abolished in Ngaba Prefecture. At that time, it came to light that the authorities planned to abolish the Tibetan curriculum entirely. In 2013, the “ Bilingual Policy” was abolished in Lhasa. The same policy has begun to be repealed in Kham this year. In many other areas, the policy was repealed last year.
The renowned Ragya Sherig Norbuling School was forcefully closed in July this year. Many other privately operated Tibetan schools have already been shut down. In September 2020, the Tibetan Departments in the universities were shut down. In its place, a Minorities Department (of Tibetan, Mongol, and Uigyur) has been established. Among the universities where this has been implemented include the Tibetan Language and Literature Institutes of Northwest Nationalities University, the Southwest Nationalities University, Minzu University of China, Tibet University and Qinghai Nationalities University, Qinghai Nationalities Teachers College, Sichuan Nationalities University, Gansu Nationalities University and Ngaba Teachers College.
In 2016, China introduced and began implementing its “Preparotry/Elemantary Boarding School” policy, targeting children as young as 4 to 6 years old. These children are confined to colonial-style boarding schools for five days a week, leaving them only two days to spend with their parents and families. As more children are forcibly enrolled in these schools, their families often feel as though strangers have returned home after three months. According to an investigation carried out in 2023, by 2016, there were instances where children who had attended these elementary boarding schools mocked and scolded their parents for not knowing how to speak Mandarin.
The present situation is a cumulative result of the past sixty years. The situation both inside and outside Tibet in the present context has reached a very delicate and critical juncture now. If we look at the educational policy implemented by China, I don’t see the Tibetan language and culture surviving more than twenty or thirty years from now on. After thirty years, I can see a situation where no one speaks Tibetan, and no one can recite the Mani mantra. It is manifestly clear that people might even become reluctant to speak Tibetan!
China continues to claim they “liberated” Tibet in 1959 and handed the ownership of Tibet back to the Tibetan masses. I beg to differ and say that by employing educational policies as weapons, China has enslaved the last four generations of Tibetans in these sixty-four years. In 2008, a group of 500 heavily armed Chinese soldiers required seven days to surveil a Tibetan village. By August 2020, after 12 years of advancements, the same task took just seven hours for a similarly sized group.
The main resource and ownership of a society is its people. Our current Tibetan population stands at 7,893,2258. Among the Tibetans in U-Tsang, 77 per cent are illiterate, 15 per cent have completed high school, and 8 per cent are college graduates. Among these college graduates, 68 per cent speak and work predominantly in Mandarin. Out of the total population in Kham and Amdo, 88 per cent are illiterate, and 28 per cent are college graduates. Among these college graduates, only 18 per cent are well-versed in Tibetan!
Currently, the Tibetan population is reaching approximately eight million. It is not six million. In the population census, individuals who do not speak Tibetan are excluded, as language and culture are fundamental markers of identity. Without meeting these defining criteria, they cannot be recognised as part of the community.”
Until 2000, the Chinese government’s policy of coopting the Tibetan people and culture in its sinicisation drive did not see any considerable development, and the foundational capital of Tibetan society remained intact. This was largely due to the care and effort that the older generation of Tibetans in Tibet put into educating the Tibetan children. Their dedication sustained a safe and conducive environment for using the Tibetan language and protecting Tibetan studies. Among these were the 10th Panchen Lama, the crown jewel of scholars Mu Ge Samten Tsang and Tseten Shabdrung Tsang, Dungkar Losang Thinley, Dorje Tseten, Nyenshul Khyenrab Woesal, Prof. Jampal Phuntsok, the 6th Gungthang Jampe Yang, Zoege Nyima, Akhu Shedub, Alag Setsang, the great scholar Dorzhi Rinpoche and Pari Sangye. If not for their efforts, the Tibetan language might not have been preserved and disseminated, even within our society. Following the end of the Cultural Revolution, the older generation took it upon themselves to safeguard and revive the language in response to societal needs. They worked tirelessly to revitalise educational programs and ensure the language’s survival. Today, in Tibet, Dorzhi Rinpoche and Pari Sangye are the last surviving members of that remarkable generation.
When I reflect on our current situation, I believe this is not the time to be distracted by dances and picnics. His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s aspiration to live up to the age of 113 is not just a personal goal but a profound call to action and a warning for the Tibetan people. If His Holiness lives to 113, we have just 23 years ahead—a mere two or three decades. Such a short span demands urgency and focus, especially when considering the future of an entire people.
The Tibetan Empire was one of only three major empires in the world during the eighth century. Today, however, the Tibetan people face the grave threat of cultural and demographic extinction. Our very survival as a distinct race hinges on one crucial factor: education. Historically, we lost our nation, in part, due to a lack of education. Now, we risk losing our identity as a people for the same reason. It is imperative that we critically reflect on our actions over the past 64 years and closely examine the policies and measures being implemented by the Chinese government within Tibet.
