(TibetanReview.net, Feb23’19) – A new textbook has been introduced for primary and middle schools in Gyangze County of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) designed to teach Tibetan students patriotism through a Sinicized version of Tibet’s history and culture. Beside, the county is the first in the TAR to introduce a textbook which integrates regional history and geography with moral education, reported China’s official globaltimes.cn Feb 21.
The report said students will begin to receive education on patriotism this semester through the new textbook.
The report said that the new textbook, titled as Meilijiangzi, meaning beautiful Gyangze County, was written by Shanghai officials who had been dispatched to aid Tibet and the county’s education authorities.
Citing Xinmin Evening News, the report said the new textbook was distributed to schools at the end of last semester with aims to inform students in Tibet about the integration and lineage of Han (ie, Chinese) and Tibet cultures.
The textbook was state to consist of four parts, including a section designed to boost students’ sense of patriotism. Two other parts were stated to include chapters on the history and geography of Gyangze County and lessons on civility.
And the fourth part was stated to include what the report called “a comparison between Tibet’s oppressive old ways and the current system that has improved the lives of many Tibetans.”
The textbook was reported to be written in both Tibetan and simplified Chinese characters.
Besides, the report cited Guo Shubao, deputy director of the education bureau of the county, as saying the textbook was distributed to students in Shanghai to introduce them to Tibetan culture.
Copies of the book are to be donated to Shanghai Yangjing High School to expand students’ knowledge on ethnic groups and promote communication between Shanghai and Tibet, the report added.
The report noted that “in order to develop Tibet and keep it tightly linked with the rest of China”, the central government launched a programme in the 1980s to dispatch officials and workers from Chinese provinces to the Tibetan territory.
