Dharamshala, 16th September: According to Tibetan sources quoted by Radio Free Asia (RFA), Chinese officials in Qinghai province have shut down private schools, forcing some children to enroll in government schools. The move comes amid a regional drive by Chinese authorities to dismantle schools that promote Tibetan culture and provide Tibetan language education in classrooms.
According to sources, the Sengdruk Taktse School, which is located in Darlag (in Chinese, Dali) county in the Golog (Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, was abruptly closed on July 8 amid a regional crackdown on schools that promote Tibetan culture and provide Tibetan language teaching. A Tibetan resident in exile told many of the pupils who attended the Middle School are now enrolled in Chinese government-run schools, citing contacts in the Darlag district.
“However, those of the students who are orphans now have nowhere to go and have been left unattended,” the source said on condition of anonymity, according to RFA.” And huge restrictions are being placed on the teachers who had taught at Sengdruk to prevent them from helping the orphaned students,” the source continued.
Other schools in Golog delivering classes outside of China’s government-mandated curriculum have been told they may be closed as well, according to the newspaper, a Tibetan resident in the area stated on the condition of anonymity. “With the shutting down of the Sengdruk Taktse school, authorities have also told many private schools in the region they may be shut down eventually,” he stated.
Since taking office as President in 2013, Xi Jinping has been committed to tightening security controls in Tibet. Buddhist monks and Dalai Lama adherents have been persecuted in China and Tibet.
Leave a Reply