Dharamshala, 11th December: China’s enormous system of ‘colonial boarding schools’ inside Tibet, where children as young as four are separated from their parents, was revealed in recent research by the Tibet Action Institute. According to a report titled “Separated from their families, hidden from the world- China’s vast system of colonial boarding schools inside Tibet,” Chinese government policies are forcing three out of every four Tibetan students into a vast network of colonial boarding schools and indoctrinating them.

These boarding schools, according to the institute, are a cornerstone of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s drive to replace Tibetan identity with a homogeneous Chinese identity in order to neutralize future dissent to CCP control. It was discovered that state-run colonial boarding schools admit an estimated 800,000 to 900,000 Tibetan kids aged 6 to 18, as well as an unknown number of four and five-year-olds. According to the study, these schools are used to mold children into CCP-aligned Chinese nationals.

Chinese officials are using one of the most “heinous methods of colonization” to undermine Tibetan identity, according to Tibet Action Institute head Lhadon Tethong, by removing Tibetan youngsters from their families and culture and forcing them to live in state-run boarding schools.

China’s anti-Tibetan language campaign:
Furthermore, according to the research, China has methodically demolished local schools in Tibet over the last decade and replaced them with centralized boarding institutions, including elementary schools. Monastery schools and other privately owned Tibetan schools have also been forced to close, leaving parents with no choice but to move their children overseas, according to the Tibet Action Institute. Chinese officials employ threats and intimidation to achieve compliance in cases where parents try to resist, according to the report.

Notably, China has been accused of restricting religious freedom in Tibet on numerous occasions. The Chinese Communist Party ordered educational establishments to stop teaching Tibetan language classes last month. In addition, violators should expect “severe legal consequences and penalties,” according to the decree.

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