Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 3: In yet another move to undermine Tibetan culture and religious education, Chinese authorities have reportedly forced over 200 Tibetan students from a previously shut Tibetan monastery school, Lhamo Kirti Monastery School in the so called Dzoge County into state-run boarding, reported Radio Free Asia.
The crackdown began in May when authorities prohibited the reopening of the Kirti Monastery School. By July, they had forced parents of more than 300 students, aged 6 to 14, to sign documents confirming their children’s enrolment in these state-run institutions. In total, nearly 500 students have been affected. As of Wednesday, another 200 students, aged 15 to 18, were forcibly enrolled in these state-controlled boarding schools.
The closure of monastery schools and the forced enrolment of Tibetan students into Chinese-run boarding schools is seen by many as an attempt by the Chinese government to erode the foundations of Tibetan cultural heritage. State-run schools emphasise Mandarin Chinese and patriotic education while diminishing the role of the Tibetan language and Buddhism, which are integral to Tibetan identity.
This move, experts say is part of a broader effort by Beijing to assimilate Tibetan youth through a highly controlled education system, raising concerns about the impact on the Tibetan language, culture, and religious identity.
Founded in 1986, Lhamo Kirti Monastery School initially offered classes to the monastery’s monks. In 1993, a separate school called Taktsang Lhamo Tibetan Culture School was established. However, it faced interference from the Chinese government, which intensified restrictions on studying of the Tibetan language and Buddhist philosophy, eventually leading to its closure. The monastery’s primary school later reopened to serve novice monks under the age of 18.
On February 6, 2023, UN experts warned that around a million Tibetan children were being affected by Chinese government policies aimed at assimilating Tibetan people culturally, religiously, and linguistically through the residential school system. These residential schools provide educational content and an environment centered around Han culture, according to independent experts.
The experts also were concerned about the substantial increase in the number of residential schools operating in and outside of the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region, and the number of Tibetan children living in them. The percentage of students in boarding schools in China is more than 20 percent, but the experts said according to the information they received, the vast majority of Tibetan children, around a million, are forced into these institutions.
