(TibetanReview.net, Jul16’24) – Chinese authorities have ordered on Jul 12 the closing down in Qinghai province of a popular, award-winning Tibetan education centre with nearly 1,400 trainees that included teachers and students of various educational institutes and monastic centres as well as even government officials and businesspeople. The move is seen as a continuation of China’s Sinicization derive that envisages cracking down on privately run establishments dedicated to the preservation of Tibetan language, religion, culture, and identity.
The provincial government covered up the true reasons for closing down the school – named as the Jigme Gyaltsen Nationalities Vocational High School, located in the province’s Golok (Chinese: Guoluo) prefecture, and run by the Snowland Academy of Sciences – by stating that search and interrogation were conducted to determine if there were any monk or nun students in it under 18 years of age and threatened severe punishment if they were found, said the Central Tibetan Administration on its Tibet.net website Jul 14.
The report did not say whether the authorities found what they were looking for, and, indeed, what exact reason was given for closing down the school.
The order to close down the school was stated to have been issued by the prefectural government. The report said the school had been subjected to several lawsuits and other forms of pressure over many years by the Golok (prefecture or county?) Party Secretary and other officials in efforts to close this school.
The school’s last graduation ceremony was held on Jul 8, 2024, with the awarding of certificates to 110 Tibetan students. A video of the event being shared online shows students, both monks and laypeople, in tearful moods, with some in suppressed snivelling mood. Everyone – teachers as well as students – was stated to be downcast with manifest feelings of dejection and sadness.
An online post by the founder, Ragya Jigme Gyaltsen, on Jul 14 expresses disappointment over the fact that the school’s end had come despite being only 30 years young and in great health. Nevertheless, he has continued, it is the inherent nature of things that are impermanent to remain impermanent, subject to destruction from moment to moment; that it would not help to wish back for something that is already gone; and that the best thing to do under the circumstance was to pray for educationally more fortunate future rebirths. He has asked everyone not to feel sad but, rather, act with a sense of responsibility.
The report saidJigme Gyaltsen had been falsely accused of accepting bribes under the guise of being the chairman of the Snow Land Pastoral Association and the Qinghai-Tibet Trade Association. And though tried and found not guilty, he was suspended from his position as a member of the Tibetan Nationalities Council, apparently a local government body.
The report also said that a group of students of Sherab Norbu Ling School (same school or the group’s name?) had also been sued for using the jewel and lion emblems featured on the banned Tibetan National Flag, as the logo of their group, which was dedicated to preserving the Tibetan language.
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The Jigme Gyaltsen Nationalities Vocational High School was stated to have been set up in 1994 with full approval and support of the Machen County People’s Government and the Golok prefecture government. The school’s enrolment expanded from 86 from local and nearby areas in Qinghai at its start to nearly 1,400 by this year, with the students coming from throughout Qinghai as well as the Tibetan areas of Sichuan and Gansu, and even from Inner Mongolia and East Turkestan (Xinjiang).
The school was stated to have taught a range of subjects, including Tibetan language, English, computer science, engineering, medicine, video editing and physical education. Those enrolled were stated to include at least 742 University students, at least 40 research students, at least three doctoral students, at least 102 government officials, and at least 242 teachers, including 13 university teachers and lecturers, as well as at least 108 monastic administrators and at least 252 businesspeople.
Every year, teachers, academics and officials from educational centres in and out of the province were stated to come to study the school’s methods and direction of education. They were stated to include researchers, professors and doctoral students from Beijing University, Zhongshan University, Hafo University, and Baccalaureate Australia.
It was stated to have graduated at least 2,259 students since 1994.
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In terms of academic output, the school has published over 300 books and articles on literature, art, grammar, folklore, costume, and mountain and river cultures. Its graduates were stated to have gone on to pursue successful careers as singers, dancers, athletes, film actors, film directors, TV producers and radio producers. Some were stated to have established branch schools, monasteries, and environmental associations.
The school was also stated to have established partnerships to develop new translation systems and educational materials, to develop pharmaceuticals and cosmetic materials, to develop eco-friendly fertilizers, to develop local food products, and to produce Tibetan clothing.
Thanks to this school’s significant contribution in these and manifold other areas, greatly benefiting local people’s lives,the Qinghai Province People’s Government and the Qinghai Province Education Office were stated to have repeatedly awarded the Machen County People’s Government and the Golok County People’s Government with the first place in the examination of academic excellence.
In fact, the province’s “Golden Award for Educational Hope” was stated to have been first awarded to this school.
Besides, the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) was stated to have awarded Jigme Gyaltsen, the school’s founder-principal, with the title of “Zhonghua Charity Worker” in recognition of his effectiveness in educating students.