Beijing [China], February 6: The Chinese government has intensified its crackdown on private educational institutions that support Tibetan language and culture, furthering its repression of Tibetans’ fundamental rights. According to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Jigme Gyaltsen Vocational High School, previously connected to Ragya Monastery in the Golok grasslands of Qinghai province, was shut down by authorities in July 2024.
The school had a distinguished history of over three decades, providing Tibetan children with an education in both the Chinese national curriculum and Tibetan language and culture. This approach helped students gain skills for modern careers while also preserving their language and heritage. However, in recent years, such private institutions have become targets of the Chinese government’s efforts to suppress Tibetan identity.
The report also highlighted the case of Humkar Dorje Rinpoche, a senior lama from the area and founder of another vocational school in 2007. Dorje Rinpoche was reported missing for a month in December 2024, likely after being forcibly disappeared by authorities. The situation has raised concerns among local residents, especially following the May 2024 detention of another senior lama, Khenpo Tenpa Dargye, and several of his followers. Dargye was released in December 2024, but community leader Gonpo Namgyal, one of the detainees, died shortly after his release, possibly due to mistreatment during detention.
Since 2021, at least five similar vocational schools in eastern Tibet have been closed by the government, with no clear justification provided. All students in the region are now mandated to attend state-run schools, where education is conducted exclusively in Chinese from elementary through high school. Tibetan is now taught as a separate subject, but the broader cultural and linguistic education that these schools once provided has been eliminated. This policy contradicts international human rights standards, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Chinese Constitution, which protect the right to receive an education in one’s mother tongue.
Recent reports have also raised alarms about the extensive political and military training that Tibetan children receive in state-run schools, with UN special rapporteurs expressing grave concern over China’s language and educational policies in Tibet. These measures appear to be part of a broader effort to assimilate Tibetan communities and suppress their cultural identity.