Tibet Action Institute alleges China's boarding schools erasing Tibetan identity, culture

Boston [US], May 30 : A recent report by the Tibet Action Institute has unveiled troubling evidence of mistreatment, forced assimilation, and cultural obliteration aimed at Tibetan children in Chinese state-sponsored boarding schools. The document relies on rare firsthand accounts and expert analyses, illustrating a bleak reality of systematic indoctrination and identity destruction within China's extensive educational system in Tibet.

The findings reveal that nearly one million Tibetan children, including about 100,000 preschoolers as young as four, have been forcibly removed from their families and placed in state-operated boarding schools. These children endure both physical and psychological maltreatment, neglect, and severe ideological training designed to instil loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party.

"These are not true educational facilities; they are centres for political re-engineering," stated Dr. Gyal Lo, a scholar specialising in education and Tibetan issues at the Institute, who escaped Tibet in 2020. "The Chinese government is intentionally severing our children from their heritage, making it likely that Tibetan language and culture could vanish within a generation," he noted.

The report outlines how Tibetan language teaching has been eliminated from educational programs, supplanted by Mandarin and government-approved narratives. Cultural and religious expressions are rigorously suppressed, even during school breaks, when children are prohibited from attending Tibetan language courses or engaging in spiritual practices. Parents frequently cannot visit or communicate with their children, many of whom experience emotional distress due to extended separation.

"China's colonial boarding schools are designed for indoctrination, not education," remarked Lhadon Tethong, Director of Tibet Action Institute. "The long-term harm to these children and the existential threat to Tibetan society cannot be overemphasised," he explained.

The Institute is calling on the United Nations and world governments to insist that China dismantle its coercive boarding school system and allow Tibetan children to receive education in their native language while living at home. It also demands a public inquiry into the alleged abuse, unexplained fatalities, and mental health challenges arising from these institutions.

This report comes after the Tibet Action Institute's 2021 investigation, which initially brought global attention to the growing network of colonial boarding schools in Tibet. That earlier finding led UN experts to voice concern regarding the extent of cultural, linguistic, and religious assimilation affecting Tibetan youth.

Tibet Action Institute underscores that urgent action is crucial to safeguard an entire generation from irreversible harm and to maintain the distinctive identity of the Tibetan people.

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