Tibet boarding schools: China accused of trying to silence language

Science and culture 10 March, 2024 18:45

Tibetan educational sociologist Gyal Lo can speak Mandarin Chinese fluently - but he would rather not.

He has spent the last few years telling the world about Beijing's sweeping educational reforms in Tibetan areas, and would prefer not to use the language of people he identifies as colonial oppressors.

China has expanded the use of boarding schools - for children as young as four - and replaced Tibetan as the main language of tuition with Chinese.

Beijing says these reforms give Tibetan children the best possible preparation for their adult lives, in a country where the main language of communication is Mandarin Chinese.

But Dr Gyal Lo disagrees - he believes Beijing's real aim is to undermine the Tibetan identity, by targeting the very youngest in society.

"They've designed the curriculum that produces a population that will not be able to practise their own language and culture in the future," he said.

"China is using education as a tool to minimise Tibetans' social capacity. No one will be able to resist their rule."

Overseas human rights organisations have for decades been highlighting alleged abuses carried out by China in Tibet - but not much over recent years.

The focus has shifted to Beijing's treatment of Muslim Uyghurs, in China's north-western region of Xinjiang, and the pro-democracy protest movement in Hong Kong.

But activists say Chinese officials have been busy in Tibet too.

Over recent years, the Chinese government has closed village schools - and private ones teaching Tibetan - and expanded the use of boarding schools.

These have been in operation for many decades in a number of Chinese regions that are thinly populated - but in Tibetan areas, they appear to have become the main means of education.

Campaigners estimate that 80% of Tibetan children - perhaps one million pupils - are now taught in boarding schools, from pre-school-age onwards.

You can listen to the radio documentary, Educating Tibet, on BBC World Service Assignment here.

In a statement to the BBC, the Chinese embassy in London said this policy was necessary.

"Due to a highly scattered population, children have to travel long distances to get to school, which is very inconvenient," it said.

"If schools were to be built in every place the students live, it would be very difficult to ensure adequate teachers and quality of teaching. That is why local governments set up boarding schools."

But opponents say this kind of schooling creates psychological trauma for children who are forcibly separated from their families, who are pressured to send their children away.

"The most challenging aspect of my life was missing my family," said one Tibetan teenager, who attended a boarding school for several years, until she was 10.

She has since fled Tibet and now lives in India. The BBC spoke to her after making contact through a campaign group.

"There were many other children who missed their families and cried too," she said. "Some of the younger ones often woke up in the middle of the night crying, and would run to the school gate."