(TibetanReview.net, Nov01’24) –Tibetan children as young as 6 who had been removed from two monastic schools in Ngaba (or Ngawa, Chinese: Aba) and Dzoege (Ruo’ergai) counties of Sichuan province are being subjected to rigorous Sinicization makeover in prison-like conditions in government-run schools by the Chinese government, reported the Tibetan service of rfa.org Oct 31, citing two local sources.
China had ordered the schools run by Kirti Monastery in Ngaba county and Lhamo Kirti Monastery in Dzoege county, for their novice monks to shut down in July this year, affecting over 1,000 and over 600 students, respectively.
Citing Chinese law that bans those aged below 18 from becoming monks, the authorities ordered the novice monks to be enrolled in government-run schools under a programme to Sinicize them.
The students, aged 6-17, are taught exclusively in Mandarin and not permitted to leave the school grounds or meet their parents, the report cited the sources as saying, requesting anonymity for safety reasons.
Some of the students who attempted to escape the school were apprehended and are now being treated “like criminals” and forbidden from leaving the school grounds, they have said.
“Since being forcibly removed from the monastery, the students have been denied contact with their parents and receive inadequate medical care when ill,” one of the sources has said.
“When parents request to meet their children, they are given various excuses about needing higher-level approval, and ultimately face threats of imprisonment if they persist,” he has added.
Following the closing down of the monastic schools, Chinese authorities in Ngaba county intensified surveillance and restrictions on local Tibetans, with a high-ranking official from China’s United Front Work Department permanently stationed there for several months, overseeing control measures over both the monastery and the local community, the report said.
The authorities imposed a crackdown on any form of communication with the outside world and in September arrested four Tibetans, including two monks from Kirti Monastery as well as two laypersons in Ngaba country, accusing them of contacting Tibetans outside the region, the report noted.
In Dzoge county too, authorities have seized the cell phones of monks and teachers of Lhamo Kirti Monastery, accusing them of sharing the news about the school closures with outside contacts, the report said.