(Tibet) The Chinese government is pressuring Tibetan schools to teach only Mandarin Chinese, solidifying systemic cultural eradication in the region. Authorities are attempting to pilot this change in the Ganzi region of Tibet, followed by a complete ban on Tibetan language courses.
This transition moves from bilingual education (Mandarin and Tibetan) to only one Tibetan language class. Tibetan children are being deprived of their right to learn their mother tongue under the policies enforced by the Communist Regime.
Complete ban
According to reports from various Tibetan-language news media, students in Tibetan regions are required to undergo complete Mandarin Chinese teaching instruction starting in March. Only one Tibetan language class will remain. Sources revealed that textbooks in the Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province, located in northwestern China, have all been translated into Chinese. “Apart from Tibetan language classes, all other subjects such as mathematics, science, and art are taught in Chinese.”
Removing Tibetan language
In June of this year, the Education Bureau of Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Tibet issued a notice. Starting from 2024, all middle schools will no longer offer Tibetan language classes. 2023 will be the final year for middle schools in the Kardze region to study the Tibetan language.
Testimony from a student
A graduate student in Tibet told Tibet Watch, “I have graduated this year from Luding Tibetan Middle School, and this is the last year of Tibetan language class being taught in our school. When schools restarted after the Tibetan Losar break (New Year), the Karze Prefecture Bureau of Education issued a notice banning the teaching of Tibetan language classes in middle schools. The notice states that from next year, 2024, there will be no teaching of Tibetan language classes in Kangding Zangwen Middle School, Luding Tibetan Middle School, Karze Tibetan Middle School, Yajiang Tibetan Middle School, and Dege Tibetan Middle School. This notice has been sent to all the schools, and they have been instructed not to share or post it on social media, etc.” Anybody doing such will be punished as per their State Law, says the source.
The same source further said, “However, from next year, 2024, there’s no Tibetan class in all middle schools in the Kham Karze region. The authorities of the Education Bureau mentioned this decision had been issued from the higher authority of education offices, but they have not explained the reason why the teaching of Tibetan language classes in middle school is being barred from next year. Currently, there are about 5 to 6 middle schools, including those mentioned above, that teach the Tibetan language, but all this will be ended as of next year.”
Widespread restrictions
In China, Tibetans face widespread restrictions on their rights, including freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, migration, and religious freedom. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) considers the basic right of Tibetans to learn their mother tongue a threat to national security. Advocates for Tibetan language education, like Tashi Wangchuk, have been sentenced to five years in prison and charged with inciting separatism for advocating language education. After being released, he is under surveillance and cannot freely express himself.
Language assimilation
China’s new education policies in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) are drastically limiting Tibetans’ access to education in their mother tongue. It violates the Chinese Constitution, international norms, and the consensus among experts regarding the importance of mother tongue education. Meanwhile, it also denies the basic desires of the Tibetan people, leading to the cultural extinction of languages and religions of ethnic minorities.
Forcing assimilation is not a solution to improve governance in ethnic minority regions, and national security is not a legitimate reason to deprive these rights. Embracing multiple languages best reflects the diversity of Chinese culture.
~Gao Zhensai, Special Correspondent of ChinaAid
