Closure of Prominent School in Rural Tibet Undermines China’s Justification for Boarding Schools Holding 1 Million Children

Boston – Chinese authorities forced the closure of Gangjong Sherig Norbu Lobling [1], a renowned Tibetan-run private school [2] located in one of Tibet’s most sparsely populated regions. The move starkly contradicts China’s chief justification that the controversial boarding school system, holding at least one million Tibetan children, is necessary due to remote geographical conditions in Tibet. The school, located in Golog, Amdo, eastern Tibet (Ch: Guoluo Prefecture, Qinghai Province), is the latest casualty of China’s war on Tibetan-medium education, a key pillar in the xenophobic campaign for “ethnic unity” being led by Xi Jinping. The closure comes just weeks after Xi visited a boarding school in the provincial capital of Xining [3] with 800 Tibetan students from the same area of Golog, signaling the priority placed on education policy and boarding schools as tools to enforce assimilation and reshape Tibetan identity.

Chinese government officials cited compliance with national education standards as a reason to order the popular school, an independently run Tibetan-medium school since 1994, to close or be taken over by the government [4]. Pressure has been escalating on the school and its acclaimed founder, senior Tibetan Buddhist monk and educator Jigme Gyaltsen, as Beijing has mandated Mandarin-medium instruction from preschool through university as a core element of its ethno-nationalist policies. China is obligated under both domestic and international law to allow Tibetan children to receive education in their mother tongue and permit Tibetans in all regions to pursue education in their preferred languages, as recommended by dozens of UN experts and Member States.

Chinese state media coverage [5] of Xi Jinping’s visit to the Golog Xining Nationalities Middle School on June 18th cited a shortage of teachers and low school standards in rural areas like Golog as reasons middle-school students were boarding in Xining, over 300 miles away from their homes. Xi’s visit also coincided with a meeting on the same day between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and a high-level U.S. Congressional Delegation in India [6] and the opening day of the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva [7] and came just two days after the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue in Chongqing [8].

 

Official state media video coverage of Xi Jinping’s visit to the Tibetan boarding school in Xining.
Source: People’s Daily Qinghai Channel

“Closing this school deprives thousands of Tibetan children of the opportunity to access high-quality education in Tibetan language, a critical option China’s leaders have all but eliminated in Tibet today as they indoctrinate a million Tibetan children in colonial-style boarding schools,” said Lhadon Tethong, founder and director of Tibet Action Institute. “Claiming that Tibetan children must live in boarding schools due to Tibet’s remote geography, while simultaneously closing down an acclaimed school servingchildren in one of the most remote regions, exposes China’s primary justification for its coercive boarding system in Tibet as a lie,” Tethong continued.

International concern has intensified over China’s efforts to eradicate Tibetan-medium schooling and compel Tibetan parents to enroll their children in state-operated Chinese-medium boarding schools. At least one million Tibetan children aged four to 18 have been separated from their parents and made to live in state-run boarding schools that serve as instruments for indoctrinating children into Chinese nationalism and loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party. Students are prohibited from practicing their religion and are exposed to a highly politicized curriculum aimed at fostering a Chinese national identity. A growing number of UN Member States and independent human rights experts have urged Beijing to abolish the coercive school system. The U.S. government has gone even further, imposing visa sanctions on Chinese officials linked to the schools.

Gangjong Sherig Norbu Lobling is a nationally recognized school with nearly 2,300 graduates. It offered a comprehensive Tibetan language education along with Chinese and English. Recognized as a prominent center of Tibetan learning, it garnered support from individuals, private foundations, and the governments of Finland and The Netherlands, earning acclaim among Tibetans across Tibet. On July 12, 2024, the school held a closing ceremony. Video footage [9] circulating on social media depicts visibly distressed students, many in tears, highlighting the deep emotional impact of the school’s closure.

“I have long admired Jigme Gyaltsen’s school as the model of culturally relevant Tibetan education and its closure is a devastating loss for Tibetans everywhere,” said Dr Gyal Lo, an educational sociologist and Tibet Specialist at Tibet Action Institute. “The Chinese government must immediately re-open this award-winning Tibetan school and allow all 1,400 students and 58 teachers and staff to return and focus its attention on shutting down the coercive boarding school system as recommended already by dozens of governments and the world’s top human rights experts at the United Nations,” Dr. Gyal Lo continued.

CONTACTS:

Lhadon Tethong, Director, Tibet Action Institute +1 (917) 418-4181
Dr. Gyal Lo, Tibet Specialist, Tibet Action Institute +1 (647) 619-9821

NOTES:

1. The name of the school in Chinese is 吉美坚赞民族职业学校 (English translation: Jigme Gyaltsen Nationalities Vocational School). In Tibetan, the name of the school is གངས་ལྗོངས་ཤེས་རིག་ ནོར་བུའི་སློབ་གླིང་། Gangjong Sherig Norbu Lobling (English translation: Snowland Education Treasure School).
2. Offcial website of Gangjong Sherig Norbu Lobling school:
   https://archive.is/T68WI
3. During an official visit to Xining, Xi Jinping stressed the importance of patriotism and “ethnic unity.” Chinese state media reports showed him visiting the Golog Xining Nationalities Middle School (Ch: 果洛西宁民族中学 Guoluo Xining Minzu Zhong Xue) on June 18, 2024, interacting with Tibetan students, visiting the canteen, and even inspecting dormitories: 习近平在青海考察调 研 2024-06-19
   https://archive.is/pFd3f
4. Another top Tibetan school forced to shut under government order, July 18, 2024, Tibet Watch:
   https://www.tibetwatch.org/news/2024/7/18/another-top-tibetan-school-forced-to-shut-under-government-order
   
5. “The General Secretary Has Just Visited”, June 19, 2024, People’s Daily Qinghai Channel:
   https://archive.is/2sq2g
6. The Congressional delegation was led by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
7. China has rejected repeated calls by UN Member States and rights experts to abolish the colonial boarding school system and end assimilationist education policies in Tibet. UN: China Rejects Calls for Human Rights Reform and Doubles Down on Abuses in Tibet, July 4, 2024, International Tibet Network: https://tibetnetwork.org/un-china-rejects-calls-for-human-rights-reform-and-doubles-down-on-abuses-in-tibet/
8. The EU delegation’s trip to China also included a side visit to Tibet. China: 39th Human Rights Dialogue with the European Union took place in Chongqing on June 16, 2024:
   https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/china-39th-human-rights-dialogue-european-union-took-place-chongqing_en
   
9. Social media footage posted by TCHRD of Gangjong Sherig Norbu Lobling closing ceremony on July 14, 2024:
   https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9ZDAVTIe3R/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link