Tibetan panel denounces China’s closure of educational institute

Amidst China’s clampdown on Tibetan-run private schools in the China’s Qinghai province, the research centre of the Central Tibetan Administration organised a discussion in Dharamshala recently to highlight the issues faced by the community.

The Tibet Policy Institute (TPI), organised a panel discussion titled “Forced Closure of Ragya Sherig Norling Educational Institute: Causes and Impacts,” moderated by its Deputy Director Zamlha Tempa Gyaltsen.

Key participants included Parliamentarian Pema Tso, Director Dawa Tsering from the Tibet Policy Institute, and Shede Dawa, a former student and researcher at Tibet Watch.

The Chinese government has recently closed a prominent vocational high school in a Tibetan region of Qinghai province, adding to a series of closures of Tibetan private schools in recent years.

During the discussion, Pema Tso highlighted the difficulties encountered by Ragya Sherig Norling, expressing her initial disbelief upon learning via mobile about its sudden closure on July 14. She emphasised the institute’s crucial role in Tibetan education, having graduated more than 2,200 students, and provided a historical context on its founder, Gen Jigme Gyaltsen.

Shede Dawa, drawing on personal experiences, emphasised Gen Jigme Gyaltsen’s commitment to preserving Tibetan language and culture, despite modest beginnings. He recounted his own transformation from disinterest to dedication under Gen Jigme’s guidance, underscoring the institute’s significance in nurturing Tibetan identity.

The panel also included parliamentarians, additional secretaries, and representatives from NGOs, all united in their condemnation of the closure and its adverse effects on Tibetan cultural and educational institutions.

According to reports, there’s a deliberate effort to elevate Mandarin Chinese over Tibetan in education and public discourse. Tibetan language instruction is increasingly restricted, with Mandarin becoming the primary language of instruction in many schools. Higher education institutions face limitations on teaching Tibetan, stifling opportunities for Tibetan language development.

The recent report by the International Campaign for Tibet highlighted significant challenges faced by Tibetans on Chinese social media platforms like Douyin, which are part of China’s strategy to diminish Tibetan language and culture in favour of promoting Mandarin.

Despite Chinese claims of supporting minority languages, including Tibetan, there has been no official response to Tibetan protests against these discriminatory practices. The report detailed how Tibetans encounter barriers such as blocked livestreams and restricted comments in Tibetan, severely limiting their online engagement.

Even Tibetan medical professionals struggle to communicate effectively in Tibetan due to platform-imposed language restrictions. These actions are portrayed as deliberate efforts to enhance Mandarin dominance while suppressing Tibetan cultural expression, contradicting official claims of respecting ethnic minority languages.

The International Campaign for Tibet has criticised the stringent censorship and monitoring of Tibetan-related content on platforms like Douyin, which it sees as part of a broader Chinese Communist Party agenda to control narratives and silence dissent.