(TibetanReview.net, Jan03’25) –As schools in Tibet broke for their winter vacation, Chinese authorities have implemented new restrictions on Tibetan children, as well as parents, banning private Tibetan-language lessons and, instead, requiring them to take ones that focus on Mandarin skills and Chinese political topics, reported the Tibetan service of rfa.org Jan 2, citing two sources with knowledge of the situation.
The restriction are stated to be even more severe in some areas where children are banned from wearing religious symbols or participating in religious activities since the start of the winter break on Dec 30, the sources have said, requesting anonymity for safety reasons.
The sources have said that during the two-month-long winter break, Tibetan students in the capital Lhasa and, in fact, across Tibet stood prohibited from receiving tutorials outside the school-planned assignments, or taking private lessons in Tibetan language. Instead, they have been instructed to focus on improving their Mandarin-language skills by taking lessons to further enhance their proficiency.
In Lhasa as well as other Tibetan regions, Chinese authorities are stated to have issued notices mandating a strict surveillance of students who have also been prohibited from joining online groups or community activities, the sources have said.
Possibly more severe restrictions have been imposed in Dzoege (Chinese: Ruo’ergai) and Ngaba (Aba) counties in Ngaba prefecture in Sichuan province where children have been banned from wearing clothing with Tibetan religious symbols, one of the sources has said.
These restrictions are compounded not only by the ban on Tibetan-language tutoring but also by a prohibition on parents from taking their children to monasteries or letting them participate in religious activities during the vacation. In fact, teaching any academic modules beyond the Chinese state-approved curriculum is strictly prohibited, the sources have said.
Similar restrictions are stated to be enforced throughout other Tibetan areas such as Golog (Guoluo) prefecture in Qinghai province and also in Kardze prefecture of Sichuan province.
“In Golog, for example, the Qinghai Provincial Education Department has issued specific vacation assignments focusing on the improvement of Mandarin language skills alongside the ban on learning Tibetan language and culture in the area,” one of the sources has said.
The vacation assignments are stated to require parents and students to jointly undertake Chinese political education, including the so-called Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a new era.
The report noted that in 2021, Chinese authorities in various Tibetan areas began prohibiting Tibetan children from taking informal Tibetan-language classes or joining workshops during their winter holidays.
Then in late 2023 and early 2024, Chinese authorities stepped up efforts to enforce the ban on children from taking private lessons and participating in religious activities, going door-to-door to conduct random checks in residential areas and commercial establishments, the report said.