[Reader-list] second posting-Mallica

[mallica mishra]

Hi! all and welcome to my second posting! I've titled
it as 
'Perspectives; Programmes and Policies of the
Government of India on the education of Tibetan
refugees in India'. As the title suggests, it is an
attempt to delve into the first part of my research;
to identify and shed light on the key issues involved
and to share my findings on the same.

The word ‘Tibet’ conjures up images and visions of
mystery and fantasy with references in all major
literatures referring to it as ‘Shangri-la’ or ‘the
Forbidden Land’ or ‘Land of the Lamas’ tethering on
the verge of extinction with its ancient and pristine
culture being systematically destroyed by the Chinese
alongwith waves of modernization. What is less talked
about is the remarkable degree of economic
self-sufficiency; cultural and religious preservation
achieved by the Tibetan peoples in India under the
spiritual and temporal leadership of His Holiness The
Dalai Lama. This amazing quality of the Tibetans to
arise like phoenix from their very own ashes in exile
and strategies of H.H. The Dalai Lama’s government
–in-exile to consciously forge a national identity
amongst people from different parts of Tibet to put up
a united front in their struggle for autonomy and/or
freedom from Chinese rule, is a fact often neglected
in most studies. 
The system of education established in exile has been
one of the most important agencies committed towards
fostering a sense of common Tibetan identity amongst
Tibetan children born and brought up in exile.
As acknowledged by H.H the Dalai Lama, “only a
successful education system, would maintain Tibetan
identity, culture and heritage, and also prepare
Tibetan children for the challenges posed by new ideas
and technology”.
The Tibetan government-in—exile today observes that
these schools have played a crucial role in the
“community’s success” in maintaining their identity in
exile during the last four and a half decades
(http://www.tibet.net/education/eng/intro/).The
government in exile also notes with gratitude the
contributions of the Government of India in achieving
the same.

As I've stated above,this posting of mine will explore
and shed light on the perspectives, policies of the
Government of India on the grant of asylum to Tibetan
refugees and the provision of welfare assistance,
particularly in the field of education to the former.

Flight of Tibetan Refugees into India: a brief
background:

 India faced a major refugee influx of Tibetans in
1959. As a result of the Chinese takeover of Tibet,
The Dalai Lama alongwith 13,000 followers crossed over
to into India. The government of India granted
political asylum to The Dalai Lama. After, a
preliminary screening procedure, Tibetans were
registered as refugees and given registration
certificates. These certificates of identity enabled
them to engage in gainful employment, economic
activities and even travel aboard and return to India
at will. Many were settled near the hill stations of
Northern India since the mountain environment was
similar to their original home environment in Tibet. 
Tibetan refugees fled their country of origin to save
their lives, religion and culture, thereby amounting
to flight due to fear of persecution. Tibetan refugees
are refugees in a political sense and most of the
benefits derived from refugee status are made
available to them. Tibetan refugee inflows have not
ceased and there are an estimated 100.000 Tibetans in
India today. 
Every year, it is further estimated that approximately
2,500 refugees from Tibet via Nepal to India; ‘home’
since 1959 of the exiled government and of their
spiritual leader, H.H.The Dalai Lama. The majority of
these refugees are stated to be young people, children
escaping from the oppression of the Chinese rule,
often being sent by their parents in the hope that
they will receive a ‘proper’ education- which will
enable them to preserve their culture and heritage and
provide them with necessary skills and qualifications
that they will enable them to build a future for
themselves. Tibetan children receive virtually no
education on their indigenous Tibetan culture and
history in public schools in Tibet. Children are
targeted for indoctrination, their freedom of thought,
religion and expression repressed
(www.tibet.com/humanrights/edutoday/html). It is to
fight against the former ‘sinocization’ that their
parents braving persecution (for instance, loss of
jobs; imprisonment etc) smuggle their children into
India, the land where their most highly revered and
worshipped leader, H.H.The Dalai Lama stays and where
they can grow up as proud Tibetans ( according to
respondents in my study, keeping a photograph of H.H.
The Dalai Lama or even talking about him or ‘freedom’
is prohibited in Tibet, inviting immediate and harsh
persecution from the Chinese  authorities).
The influx of young people has been rising sharply
(http: //www.tibet.ca/wtnarchive/1993/7/14-2_1.html)
since the Lhasa unrest in 1989. As per Tsewang Yeshi,
director of the Tibetan Children’s Village in
Dharamsala , 327 children arrived in the year 2000, up
from the previous average of 250 a year. The year 2001
saw some 231 children coming in by late May. 

Government of India and Grant of Asylum to Tibetan
Refugees

The Government of India granted asylum to the
spiritual and temporal leader of Tibetans, H.H.The
Dalai Lama, due to India’s cultural affinities with
Buddhist Tibet (it was from India that Buddhism spread
to Tibet centuries ago) as also due to geopolitical
considerations as “compensation for Nehru’s political
inability to do anything for Tibet on the eve of its
invasion by China”(Norbu,2001:209).  
As observed in The State of the World’s Refugees
(2002:63), “The Indian government has consciously
promoted a policy which enables the Tibetan community
to maintain its distinct identity and cultural values,
together with a political and administrative system of
its own. From the start, separate settlements were
identified and established in geographically suitable
areas so as to provide them with economic, social and
religious autonomy” (cited in Mallica, M.Phil
Dissertation, ‘Education of Refugee Children:A
Sociological perspective’, ZHCES/JNU, New Delhi,
2002:95). The Indian government’s efforts in this
direction may have been effected by the attitude of
the Tibetan refugees towards their cultural
identities. As Chimni (2000:494) observes, “In the
beginning, the Tibetan refugees resisted efforts to
settle them permanently in the country of asylum”, but
agreed later on, on the condition that “the government
of India would allow them to settle in large
relatively isolated communities. This would allow them
to protect and maintain their separate cultural and
religious traditions” (cited in Mallica, M.Phil
Dissertation, ‘Education of Refugee Children:A
Sociological perspective’, ZHCES/JNU, New Delhi,
2002:95).

Government of India and Education of Tibetan Refugees
in India 

Alongwith the provision of several welfare provisions
(mentioned above), the Government of India has
established a system of education for the Tibetan
refugees in India alongwith making efforts for the
preservation of the refugee groups’ language, culture
and identity. This, despite the fact that, the
Government of India does not support autonomy of
Tibet, nor does it recognize the Tibetan
Government-in-exile established in Dharamsala,
Himachal Pradesh.
Every year the Government of India also spends close
to millions of rupees on the education of Tibetans in
India. This initiative of the government thus acquires
immense significance due to the fact that the
Government does not grant concessions of a similar
kind to other refugee groups in the country. A decade
back, in the year 1996, alongwith 11 million US
dollars, around 480 million Indian rupees were
apparently spent on educating Tibetan refugee children
in exile(Dhondup cited in www.tcewf.com). 
Central Schools for Tibetans were set up all over the
country, after discussions between Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru and H.H.The Dalai Lama. Since the establishment
of the first central school for Tibetans in Mussoorie,
U.P in 1960 till the year 1994, a “three-language
formula” of teaching Hindi, Tibetan and English had
been followed in all primary schools upto the 5th
grade. While Tibetan language, literature, history and
performing arts constituted a part of the school
curriculum, the medium of instruction for science,
maths and social studies had remained English. Things
changed in 1994, when , keeping pace with demands for
a “Tibetanization” of the school curriculum to
preserve the ‘dying’ Tibetan language, the government
endorsed the ‘Tibetanization programme’ of the use of
Tibetan language as the medium of instruction upto the
fifth grade (with English and Hindi being taught as
the second and third languages respectively). The
interest and commitment of the then Prime Minister of
India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru towards the bringing up
of Tibetan children well-steeped in their language,
culture and tradition was an important factor which
led to the establishment of CSTs for Tibetan children.
The Dalai Lama refers to conversations with Pundit
Nehru , with the latter stressing upon the importance
of bringing up of children “with a thorough knowledge
of their own history and culture” alongwith their
being “conversant with the ways of the modern world”
(http://www.tcewf.org).
The gratitude Tibetans feel for this assistance
rendered by the GOI is expressed as “one of the
biggest investments she (India) has made in the
Tibetan refugees. This unprecedented generosity has to
be appreciated all the more because India is not
without her economic problems” (Norbu cited in Chimni,
2000:496). 
On the support provided by the Government of India to
Tibetan education , H.H.The Dalai Lama , has further
stated that “Over the years, the people and the
Government of India have given us Tibetans tremendous
support, particularly in the field of education. They
gave us financial assistance, found us buildings, and
provided dedicated and experienced Indian teachers. In
addition, we received generous help from many foreign
relief organizations. To all these friends, I offer my
deepest thanks. I cannot adequately express the
gratitude I feel for the many who have so freely
devoted their lives to helping my people, often in
poor conditions and in remote area”
(http://www.tibet.com/govt/edu.html) cited in Mallica,
M.Phil Dissertation, ‘Education of Refugee Children:A
Sociological perspective, ZHCES, JNU, 2002).

Establishment of CTSA: 
at the request of H.H The Dalai Lama, the Government
of India, in 1961, established the Tibetan Schools
Society (now called Central Tibetan Schools
Administration), an autonomous body by a resolution of
the Govt. of India, Ministry of Education and Youth
Services (Now Ministry of Human Resource Development)
and registered under the Societies Registration Act
(XXI of 1860). The Main object of the Society is to
establish, manage and assists schools in India for the
education of Tibetan children
(http://ctsa.nic.in/tibetanculture.asp?SessionID=1008885).
The Governing Body of the Central Tibetan Schools
Administration (CTSA), which is its main
administrative authority is chaired by the Joint
Secretary of the Ministry of Human Resource
Development, GOI. Its members consist of four Indians
(two representatives of the Ministry of External
Affairs; one representative of the Ministry of Home
Affairs; and the Secretary of CTSA) and four Tibetans
(Education Minister, Education Secretary, the
Representative at the Bureau of His Holiness The Dalai
Lama, New Delhi; and the Director of the Central
Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Varanasi). 

Number of schools: 
During 2001-2002 there were 70 such schools spread all
over India, including Senior Secondary, Secondary,
Middle, Primary and Pre-Primary schools and
grant-in-aid schools. In this year 9132 students
received education in schools run by CTSA. 
While a maximum number of students seem to be
attending the CTSA schools (Government of India
administered); a large number of students also attend
schools run by the Department of Education of H.H.The
Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile and also autonomous
schools administered by private charitable
organizations. 

Types of schools:
The Administration runs two types of schools
(i)Residential
(ii) Day Schools. During the Year 2001-2002 the
Administration was running 8 Senior Secondary
Schools,5 Secondary School, 8 Middle Schools, 7
Primary Schools, 42 Pre Primary Schools.Out of these 9
are Grant-in-aid Schools.

Objectives of CTSA : 
•	To establish and carry out the Administration and
Management of the Central School for Tibetans in India
for the education and training of Tibetan children. 
•	To control and supervise education, discipline,
board and lodging, health and hygiene and general
progress of the students and staff in CTSA schools. 
•	To get affiliation of the schools with any
association, society or body which conducts public
examinations for the purpose of preparing the students
for such examination. 
•	To build, construct and maintain hostels, schools or
other buildings and to provide and equip the same for
the use to which each building is to be put up to. 
•	To give loans, scholarships, free ships, prizes,
monetary and other assistance to the students of the
school under the
Administration to help them in their studies. 
•	To start, conduct, print, publish and exhibit
magazines, periodicals, and newspapers, pamphlets that
may be considered desirable for the promotion of the
objects of the Administration. 
•	To preserve and promote Tibetan Culture, Heritage
and Tradition. 
Characteristics of CST schools
The following are some of the salient features of the
Central Schools for Tibetans:
•	Central Schools for Tibetans are located at places
that have a sizeable population of Tibetans. Most of
these schools are located in hilly and far-flung
areas.
•	The medium of instruction in these schools from
Pre-primary to Class V is Tibetan and English from
Class VI to XII. However, Hindi is taught as a
compulsory subject from Class VI to VIII and as
optional from class IX onwards.
•	The schools follow 10+2 system of Education.
•	Central Schools for Tibetans prepare students for
All India Secondary School Examination (X) and All
India Senior School Certificate Examination (XII)
conducted by Central Board of Secondary Education,
Delhi.
•	CTSA has six Residential schools up to +2 stage at
Mussoorie, Dalhousie, Shimla, Darjeeling, Kalimpong
and Mundgod with hostel facility for both boys and
girls. 
Meritorious students coming from poor families living
in the settlements where educational facilities are
not available and whose parents cannot bear boarding
charges are provided with free boarding and lodging in
these schools. The number of free boarders, however,
is not supposed to exceed 360 in all the six schools
taken together. Boys and girls are also allowed to
avail of board and lodging facilities in these six
schools on payment basis and are treated as paid
boarders. 
On 27-12-1975 the Governing Body approved that as a
special case those India born Tibetan children who
wish to join the residential schools could be admitted
provided their parents pay for the cost of board and
lodging @ Rs.100/- P.M. This amount has been revised
from time to time at present, it is Rs.240/-P.M.
•	Free education is imparted to the Tibetan students
right from Pre-Primary to Class XII. 
•	Common Annual Examination for Class V, VIII, IX, and
XI are conducted to ensure uniformity in educational
achievements. Pre-Board examinations for classes X and
XII are also conducted to familiarize the students
with the Board Question pattern. 
•	Central Schools for Tibetans impart quality
education. Emphasis is, however, laid on preserving
and promoting the ancient Tibetan Culture and
Heritage. 
•	Students compulsorily get training in Tibetan music
and folk dance. Co-curricular activities for all the
students from Class I to XII are conducted
compulsorily. 
•	Tailoring is compulsory for girls and woodcraft is
compulsory for boys from class VI to X in Secondary
and Senior Secondary Schools. 
•	Vocational Education at the +2 stage is imparted at
Central School for Tibetans, Mundgod. Presently, three
Commerce based Vocational Courses i.e. Stenography
(English), Auditing & Accountancy and Purchasing &
Store Keeping are available in this school.
•	Computer education is also being given to all the
students from class  vi onwards.Information practices
as a subject is also being taught at xi and xii level
in Herbertpur,Bylakuppe,Mundgod and Dalhousie
schools(source:Annual Report CTSA, Delhi, 2002-2003).
Scholarships: Various scholarships are provided by the
CTSA to help Tibetan students pursue their further
studies after passing All India Senior School
Certificate Examination. 
In one such scheme 15 Tibetan Students of CTSA in the
age group of 17 to 22 passing All India Senior School
Certificate Examination with 60% and above marks are
awarded merit scholarships for pursing degree level
courses in Arts, Science, Engineering, Medicine and
Teacher Training in recognized Institutes
In another scheme five Tibetan Students of CTSA
Schools passing All India Senior Secondary School
Certificate Examination with minimum 50% and above
marks are awarded scholarships for pursuing Diploma
level / Vocational courses in recognized Institutes. 

Higher Education: 
access to higher education, however, appears to be
more problematic. According to Chimni, education being
a state-as opposed to Federal responsibility in India,
one of the requirements of admission into any of the
state colleges is a ‘domicile certificate’ which
confirms that her/his parents are legal residents of
that state. “If you are not a legal resident of the
state, you are not eligible to apply for admission.
Furthermore to be able to get a domicile certificate a
Tibetan must first take Indian citizenship, a highly
sensitive and emotional issue with Tibetan
refugees”(Chimni,2000:405 cited in Mallica, M.Phil
Dissertation, ‘Education of Refugee Children:A
Sociological perspective, ZHCES, JNU, 2002:94).This
requirement of Tibetan refugees to forego their
refugee status to acquire domicile certificates to
seek admission to professional colleges and
institutions of higher education/training in the
country seems to be resented by them. According to
Tsering and Sinclair, this is because of which
Tibetans tend to cherish their “refugee” status and
their identity, not being interested in applying for
naturalization in India. This problem, according to
them, is being solved, to an extent, with state
governments, for instance, Himachal Pradesh, reserving
a few seats in medical and other professional
institutions for Tibetan students (Tsering and
Sinclair,1999:16,cited in Mallica, M.Phil
Dissertation, ‘Education of Refugee Children:A
Sociological perspective, ZHCES, JNU, 2002:94).
Reservation of Seats: The Govt. of India provides
reservation to Tibetan students for admission to
various professional courses in the country. 

S.No	No. of Seats	Courses	Institution
Degree Level
1	1	M.B.B.S	Maulana Azad Medical College,   Delhi
2	1	Electrical Engineering	University of Baroda,
Vadodara
3	1	Computer Engineering	University of Baroda,
Vadodara
4	1	B. Pharmacy	University of Baroda, Vadodara
5	2	Civil Engineering	The Director of Tech. Education,
Bhopal (M.P)
6	1	Chemical Engineering	The Director of Tech.
Education, Bhopal (M.P)
7	1	Mechanical Engineering	The Director of Tech.
Education, Bhopal (M.P)
8	1	Computer Engineering	The Director of Tech.
Education, Bhopal (M.P)
Diploma Level
9	1	Chemical Engineering	Govt. Polytechnic, Rajkot
10	1	Computer Technology	Goa College of Engg., Goa
11	1	Pharmacy	College of Pharmacy, Delhi
12	2	Printing Technology	Institute of Printing Tech,
Bangalore


Central Schools for Tibetans (CST) : A Snapshot of
some schools

Most of these schools have been set up in close
proximity to or within Tibetan settlements in
different parts of India to enable Tibetan children to
have proper access to them and, more importantly, to
be brought up in an environment that can appear as
Tibetan to them as possible so that their traditional
roots remain firmly grounded in the soil of exile . 
Apart from the geographical location of the schools
(both residential and day schools); school
architecture and ambience; policies of recruitment of
teaching and non-teaching staff; school curriculum and
syllabus; choice of methods of instruction and
pedagogy; medium of education; school processes and
practices all combine to present a conscious and
concerted attempt to enable Tibetan children to grow
up in a Tibetan environment and to enable them to
preserve their Tibetan culture; language; identity as
also to have respect towards their country of exile,
i.e. India. There is also an attempt, in accordance
with His Holiness The Dalai Lama’s and Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru’s vision to combine tradition and
modernity in education. The CTSA website refers to the
attempt of CSTs to enable the Tibetan children to grow
up as “good and responsible human beings” having,
amongst other qualities, “scientific outlook”
alongwith “spiritual growth and aesthetic
sensibilities”.
Given below are official references to Central Schools
for Tibetans in different parts of India (Source:
http://ctsa.nic.in/tibetanculture.asp?SessionID=1008885),
which provide , in a nutshell, information about
geographical location, enrolment, year of
establishment, current school programmes and
activities etc of some of these schools in India as
also an essence of the schools’ ethos and ambience.

•	CST Mundgod:
CST Mundgod was founded in 1969 by Mysore Resettlement
and Development Agency, which had undertaken the
responsibility of rehabilitating Tibetan Refugees in
South India. It was taken over by CTSA in 1970.It has
today emerged as one of the biggest Senior Secondary
schools in Tibetan Community offering the widest range
of course streams. The website of CTSA  states that
the school is ‘ideally located in the very heart of
the Tibetan Settlement covering an area of 8.29 acres,
in close proximity with the settlement office,
hospitals, shopping complex and taxi stand. Lush green
expanse of open paddy fields surround school campus.
On both sides of school at close range lies the
picturesque view of the sprawling Gaden and Drepung
Monastic University Complexes, resplendent in it’s
imposing traditional Tibetan architectural splendor.
This gives a serene charm to the school environment.
The school is 50 km from Hubli City and 7 km from
Mungod town’. At present the school has 994 students
on the roll. The total strength of staff stands at 71
(16 non-teaching and 55 teaching staff)comprising of
both Tibetan and Indian personnel.  The motto of
school is stated as, ‘while imparting education, the
school strives towards grooming the children into
responsible and good human beings’. 

•	CST CVP,Bylakuppe:
was established in 1971 by Mysore Rehabilitation and
Development Agency (MYRADA) as a primary school. The
CTSA website states that it is located ‘about 60 km
from Mysore city in Karnataka State, in picturesque
and quite surroundings’ and that the school ‘caters to
children of settlers residing at Dickyi Larsoe Tibetan
Settlement’. It seems that later the school was taken
over by CTSA, Delhi and was made a branch of the main
school CST Bylakuppe. In 1986, it was upgraded to
middle level and made an independent school. It was
further upgraded to secondary school level in 1990 and
has classes I to X. The school has on roll 350
students and 32 teaching and non-teaching staff. The
school is affiliated to CBSE,Delhi and follows the
syllabus prescribed by it. Besides laying ‘utmost
emphasis on excellence in academics, the school lays
equal importance on the all round development of
students personality’. The school also ‘lays emphasis
on the preservation and promotion of Tibetan culture
and inculcating positive values among the students
through a series of initiatives including inviting
eminent speakers and participation in various
functions and festivals in the settlement’. The
school, it is stated, actively participates in various
inter school cultural and sports competitions and that
‘students have distinguished themselves and brought
many laurels to the school’. It is also stated that
being a day school, it ‘maintains a very close rapport
with the community’. The settlement office and parents
representatives are ,it seems, actively involved in
the welfare of the school. Mr. Jampa Tenzin is the
Principal of the school.

•	CST,Kalimpong:
 is one of the six residential schools managed by the
CTSA, New Delhi and was established in 1964. It was
then one of the largest residential Tibetan school
with over 800 boarders. The current enrollment is 554
(256 boys and 298 girls) of which 270 are boarders.
The school has about 40 faculty staff members and
provides ‘healthy modern education, firmly based on
moral values and in congruence with Tibetan cultural
traditions’. It follows the curriculum set by CBSE,
Delhi. The school has classes from KG to XII with
humanities at the senior secondary level. The school ,
it is stated, has a ‘fine Scouts and Guides programme
which participated in the National Integration Camp in
New Delhi and performed Tibetan song and dances at the
Asia Pacific Regional Conference of the Bharat Scouts
and Guides. Co-curricular activities, it is stated,
are conducted alongwith Inter-house or Inter-class
levels emphasizing mass participation at all levels.
Morning assembly activities, debates, quiz,
declamation and recitations form some of these
activities in which children actively participate. Mr.
Kalsang T. Bhutia is the current Principal of the
school and Mr. Tsering Lhakpa the School Rector. 

•	CST,Shimla:
formerly known Tibetan Refugee School Shimla, came
into being in early 1961 under the Principal of Shri
Sonam Topjor Tethong. The strength of Mussoorie and
Dharamsala School exceeded their intake capacity and
hence the need for another school for Tibetan refugee
children was urgently felt. When the officials deputed
from Dharamsala came to Shimla in search of a good
campus for school, they apparently caught sight of a
huge colonial building called "Torrentiym Cottage"
with a small class room block and a playground which
then used to house the junior section of Bishop Cotton
School. After negotiations an agreement was signed on
December 1, 1960 between the Representative of H. H.
the Dalai Lama and the Governing Body of Bishop Cotton
School by which the whole property was initially
rented and ultimately purchased and the first batch of
160 nursery students came from Dharamsala. The school
was taken over by CTSA In 1964, the school campus was
further extended with the purchase of the adjoining
building, out-houses and a Tennis Court known as
"Villa Torrents". With the arrival of more children
the existing accommodation was proving to be
inadequate. This led to a branch school being opened
at Earlsfield near St. Beades' College. The school was
upgraded to Senior Secondary level in the year 1987.
As of now, the school has around 500 students out of
whom 312 are boarders and the rest are day-scholars.
It has become one of the premier learning institutions
for Tibetan refugee children. The products of this
school have now assumed prestigious post in the
Tibetan Exile Government hierarchy. 

•	CST,Herbertpur:
 Formally under the name S.F.F. Senior Secondary
School and managed by the Special Frontier Force,
Herbertpur, the school was formally handed over to the
CTSA on 23rd July 1994 and was renamed as Central
School for Tibetans, Herbertpur. This change of guard
was the culmination of efforts made by Major General
Sharda (then Inspector General, S.F.F.) and Mr. S.P.
Datta (then Secretary CTSA). Both of these officers,
it seems, are known for their “profound love and
concern for the well being of Tibetan children and the
community living in India”. CST Herbertpur is situated
in the State of Uttaranchal on the western fringes of
Doon Valley. The location of the institution is
‘beautiful and bears magnificent scenic surroundings,
which includes stupendous rise of mighty Himalayas in
the north and fine lush and lower extension of the
Shivalik ranges in the south’. The school is about 36
km east of Dehradun, the state capital and about 14 km
west of Paonta Sahib, a historical town in Himachal
Pradesh State. CST Herbertpur is a senior secondary
school and has only humanities stream at the Plus 2
level. The school follows CBSE curriculum.There is a
hostel facility for about 400 children under the
direct management of S.F.F. officials. Presently the
school has 32 staff members and 457 children. The
website goes on to state that ‘under the leadership of
Mr. V.K. Singh, Principal and with the guiding light
of Dr. M.S. Verma, the current Secretary CTSA, the
school is all set to make further progress in every
field’. 

Government of India’s Rationale for Preservation of
Tibetan culture in education

To explore the Government of India’s outlook and
policies initially worked out in the early 1960s, I
browsed through my hand-written notes (xeroxing is not
allowed by the office) of sections of the reports, I’d
pored over on my earlier trips to the CTSA office in
Rohini,New Delhi. Annual reports of CTSA of the year
1963 (source: CTSA, Rohini, New Delhi) explain in
detail the aims and objectives for schooling (of CTS)
as the following: 
1.	That this education provided to Tibetan children
will be “good education” explained as based upon
“modern principles”
2.	The Tibetan children when educated would form a
group which would provide “enlightened leadership” to
their own peoples
3.	Education given to these children should enable
children “to appreciate their own cultural heritage,
religion and culture and also appreciate the culture
of their surroundings”
4.	The children should acquire basic skills in
reading, writing and arithmetic which would be the
basis of higher education
5.	The children should also be “made aware of the
technological age and its implications. They should be
“equipped for vocation and trade in order to enable
them to settle in life”.

Recent CTSA programmes & policies for preservation and
promotion of Tibetan culture,Traditions and Heritage

The CTSA annual report (2002-2003) that I came upon
during my visit to the CTSA office sometime last year
lists the programmes and policies for preservation and
promotion of Tibetan culture, Traditions and Heritage.
The report states that ‘one of the broad objectives of
the administration is to preserve and promote Tibetan
culture, traditions and heritage'. CTSA has been
making determined efforts to preserve and promote
Tibetan culture, traditions and heritage. It further
states that CTSA has been making “determined efforts
to preserve and promote Tibetan culture and heritage”
by conducting various short-term and long-term
programmes. Some of them are:
1.	In CTSA schools each school conducts a variety of
co-curricular programmes on Tibetan culture
viz.Tibetan folk dance and group dance,community
singing,group songs, one act play etc.These programmes
of literary and cultural activities are also  
organized at regional  and central levels.
2.	As stated earlier, the medium of instruction in all
CTSA schools at primary level (from pre-primary to
class   v) is Tibetan. After class v, while English
becomes the medium of instruction the teaching of
Tibetan continues as a separate subject till  class 
xii.
3.	To encourage and motivate Indian teachers to learn
Tibetan language there exists a scheme of incentive
for acquiring proficiency in Tibetan language.The
teachers who pass  the examination in Tibetan language
at the lower level, conducted by CTSA of H.H.The Dalai
Lama, Dharamsala on behalf of CTSA are   granted an  
incentive award of Rs.2500/-.
4.	Recorded cassettes of speeches and community songs
for the morning assembly have been provided to all
schools “to keep the spirit of culture alive”
5.	CTSA, Delhi also publishes an annual trilingual
journal (in English; Tibetan and Hindi) with writings
on Tibetan culture, tradition and heritage.
The above programmes and policies pursued by the
Government of India clearly articulate the initiatives
of the former to enable the Tibetan refugees to
preserve their cultural and linguistic heritage
through the medium of education.

Outcomes in Education: 

Outcomes in education of Tibetan refugee children can
be gauged from the fact that the enrollment rate in
Tibetan schools is said to be almost 80%. The Tibetan
refugee community has been able to achieve “almost
universal literacy amongst the younger generations,
when only 30 years ago, it had a very low literacy
rate”. Many students have been able to go beyond
school to study at universities (with Delhi University
being an important and favored destination for
students coming from several Tibetan settlements all
over the country for pursuing their graduate and even
post-graduate studies), colleges and vocational
training centers.
The outcomes of education for Tibetan refugees
children in India is observed by the Tibetan
government-in-exile in India (also mentioned above) as
“one of the greatest achievements of the refugee
community” (http://www.tibet.com/govt/edu.html).
These achievements in the educational scenario of
Tibetan refugees in India, has been possible due to a
“combination of pre-migration group circumstances,
primarily, high levels of motivation, aspirations for
education and desire to excel with which they have
come to India and post-migration situational
circumstances , primarily, favorable attitudes of the
Government of India and educational assistance
provided by the same alongwith financial aid provided
by a host of international humanitarian organizations,
for instance, Kinderdorf International etc” (Mallica,
M.Phil Dissertation, ‘Education of Refugee Children:A
Sociological perspective, ZHCES, JNU, 2002:99).

Whether driven by cultural-historical or by
geo-political considerations, the commitment and
assistance of the Government of India towards enabling
the Tibetan refugees to establish and develop an
educational system attempting to achieve a balance
between tradition and modernity in exile for nurturing
“seeds of future Tibet” needs to be acknowledged. 

My next posting will try to explore and highlight the
motivations, perspectives, strategies and policies of
the Tibetan government-in-exile towards establishing a
system of education for Tibetan children in exile in
India which is, at once, traditional as it is modern
and the efforts made to ensure that the transplanted
“seeds of future Tibet” grow up and retain their
Tibettanness even in exile.

s'long!Comments are welcomed!

Regards!
Mallica





		


		
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