Presented by Tashi Norbu Rikha

Introduction

Today, there are over 130,000 Tibetans in exile as a result of China's invasion of Tibet in 1949 and are living mainly in countries neighboring Tibet namely India, Nepal and Bhutan. Tibet's spiritual and temporal head His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama took asylum in India in 1959 and presently resides in Dharamsala, a small town in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, where he heads the Tibetan government in- exile, commonly known as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). On coming into exile, one of the foremost priorities of the exile government was to provide care and education to the thousands of children who managed to escape from Tibet. Many children were either orphan or destitute since their parents and loved ones either died while making the escape or succumbed unable to adjust to the new environment. Education was all the more important as they were the community's main source of hope for the future and on whose shoulders lie the responsibility to regain our homeland. The first Tibetan school in exile with an initial enrollment of 50 students was established in 1960 at Mussoorie in the state of Uttar Pradesh with generous help from the Indian government. Since then more schools, nurseries and special children's villages which provide a home like environment along with education to destitute and orphan children were set up with assistance from the host government and some with assistance from international aid organizations and individuals.

As a result, today in exile there are 106 pre-primary, 87 primary, 44 middle, 23 secondary and 13 senior secondary level schools spread across three countries namely India, Nepal and Bhutan with an enrollment of over twenty seven thousand children. This accounts for 88% of the total number of children of school age. The remaining children are enrolled in monastic institutions or attend non-Tibetan schools. Barring few extremely remote border areas the entire refugee children population attend school.

Present Education System

By necessity Tibetan schools in exile have no option but to follow the education system of the host countries as they are affiliated to a board of education recognized by the respective governments. Schooling generally consists of two years of kindergarten followed by ten years of general education involving study of mathematics, general studies, social science, three languages namely Tibetan, English and Hindi and two years of diversified curricula offering four fields of study namely arts, science, commerce and vocational studies. Besides learning Tibetan language, instruction in Tibetan literature, history, performing arts and Buddhist scriptures have also been incorporated into the school curriculum. Although we possess a profound Buddhist monastic system of education however owing to lack of sufficient knowledge and experience in the organization of a formal school education in Tibet compounded by our refugee status and inadequate resources had compelled us to completely rely on the education systems being followed in the host countries. This probably explains why there has so far never been a stated National Policy on Education to guide education decision making and implementation in order to achieve national goals. What has however been stated were general education aims namely making primary education mandatory to achieve hundred percent literacy; inculcating values of personal integrity and universal responsibility; promoting the learning of Tibetan language and culture and developing of scientific and technical skills.

For us education is a continual process of developing new ways and systems to express and promote our social, cultural and national identity while meeting the challenges of the time. While great strides have been made in providing school education for every Tibetan refugee child, we aspire to expand existing programs in areas of need such as career planning, adult education, vocational training and job placement. To continually assess school and community needs the Education Department of the exile government conducts relevant research as the basis of planning curriculum and human resource development.

Developing a sound National Education Policy

Basically, we envision an education policy that facilitates modern, scientific education, providing graduates with the ability to maintain a successful, self-sufficient livelihood that contributes to national development and enables them to grow up as good human beings firmly rooted in their culture and heritage.

The need to formulate a national policy on education for Tibetans in exile was envisaged in the Charter of the Tibetan People in Exile and duly enshrined in Article 17(1) under the Directive Principles of the Tibetan Administration. A six-member committee consisting of education planners, academicians and school administrators, was appointed in 1996 to prepare a comprehensive national education policy, which will form the basis of all future educational planning in exile and also serve as a means to prepare our youth to carry out the national task in exile and when we eventually return to our country. A detailed survey was conducted to assess the existing situation in all levels of education namely pre-school, primary, middle, secondary, senior secondary, vocational and higher education covering areas such as curriculum, academic standards, text books, enrollment, dropouts, teacher education, school infrastructure, girl education and education finance etc. From the findings of the survey, critical issues or problem areas in exile education have been identified for which policy prescriptions needed to be formulated. At the same time, it is vital that the education policy formulated be a vehicle in preparing our children for the task of rebuilding a future free Tibet.

Elucidated below are some critical aspects that are central to developing a sound National Education Policy for Tibetans.

1. Time to take stock

We have come a long way from the first schools in sheds and under thatched roofs. Much of the basic infrastructure for education is now in place. It is now time to take stock, see where we are and plan an appropriate policy for the future. Much of our past policies and practices were born out of necessities; we had limited options to really plan. We are now at a crossroads where we have both the need and opportunity to plan ahead. Hence the need to develop a new education policy with a vision that will take us much beyond our life in exile.

2. Cultural transmission

As a nation, our greatest treasure is our religious and cultural heritage. Today, core Tibetan values of altruism, compassion and nonviolence have a universal appeal. Unfortunately, in Tibet young children stand very little chance of acquiring these values, as the prevailing educational system implemented in Tibet by communist China does not encourage the transmission of our religious and cultural heritage to the Tibetan children. Therefore, it is all the more important, for Tibetans in Diaspora to make every effort transmit our rich cultural heritage to the younger generation. The new education policy will stress this and suggest concrete measures whereby schools may actively seek to keep Tibetan culture alive.

3. Development of Tibetan language

We envisage that Tibetan will be the official language in a future free Tibet. As such it will be imperative for Tibetans to study their language, develop sufficient skills in it to run government, business and industry. Apart from few institutes and monasteries, there are very few opportunities for Tibetan children in exile to study Tibetan language after completing grade twelve. The new education policy will endeavor to create more opportunities for higher Tibetan language studies.

4. Education for democracy and non-violence

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has consistently advocated democracy for a future free Tibet that will have non-violence and peace at its roots. His thoughts and the collective will of the Tibetan people are expressed in the Charter or Draft Constitution for Tibet, prepared by the Central Tibetan Administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Dharamsala. It needs enlightened citizens to reap the real fruits of democracy. The new education policy will emphasize the teaching and practice of democratic norms and non-violence during school education paving the way for a Tibet that will be truly democratic and a zone of peace.

5. Preparing Tibetans for the modern world

We shall strive to provide the best of modern education to our youth so that they are ready to face the challenges of this ever-changing world. Together with our traditional values, we shall seek to inculcate in our children a scientific temper, an inquiring mind and a modern outlook. From our school systems, we hope will emerge outstanding computer engineers and programmers and leaders in industry, business and in scientific research and development. We envisage that modern science and technology will play a crucial role in the reconstruction of Tibet. It is vital that our education system produces the required human resource with scientific and technical skills.

6. Instilling environmental awareness

During the reconstruction of Tibet it is essential that due consideration is given to the fragile Himalayan ecology. The school systems will strive to promote an awareness of our environment in the children and the need to protect it. From an early age, children to be taught the need to protect flora and fauna, the dangers posed to our environment from various sources, and the everyday tasks that we can do to protect and keep our environment clean.

7. Education for national development

A future free Tibet will require skilled manpower in various fields. Our educational system will endeavor to produce them. The new education policy will encourage Tibetans to branch out into different fields of knowledge. Studies conducted in connection with the formulation of the National Education Policy clearly revealed that currently there is a heavy bias towards the Arts. The placement of career counselors in secondary schools, we hope, can encourage more Tibetan students to opt for careers in Science and Commerce. Scholarship award policies can also be suitably modified to encourage diversification of courses of study as per national requirement.

8. Improving teaching methods

One of our biggest hopes from the new education policy will be to improve the teaching learning process in Tibetan schools. Studies show that currently, most Tibetan classrooms are teacher- oriented. Our aim will be to strive for student centered activity-based learning through active use of multimedia in the classrooms and information technology namely the Internet. A re-evaluation of our teachers training programs needs to be undertaken for future teachers, while reorientation and in-service teacher's training programs will highlight the need for student interaction and activity to replace the current 'chalk and talk' method.

9. Developing a suitable curriculum

One of the limitations of education in exile has been that we had to thus far follow the education pattern and curriculum of our host countries. So, while children in India followed the curriculum set out by the Central Board of Secondary Education, (CBSE), New Delhi, Tibetan children in Bhutan and Nepal followed curriculum prepared by respective national education boards of those countries. However, we realize the vital importance of developing our own school curriculum. A beginning was made in 1994 with the switch of the medium of instruction at the primary level from English to Tibetan. The Education Development and Resource Center based at the Tibetan Children's Village, Dharamsala and the Department of Education have already begun to publish textbooks for various subjects up to grade V in Tibetan. The new education policy will seek to improve the curriculum developed thus far and explore possibilities of developing it further with the aim of sowing the seeds of curriculum for a future free Tibet.

In conclusion, the last four decades has witnessed immense developments in field of education within the exile community as a result of which a vast majority of Tibetans today are literate and almost the entire children of school age are enrolled either in schools or monasteries established in exile. The time has now come for us to take stock of our current situation and for education planners in the community to develop an education policy that will enable our children to succeed in the modern world while at the same time inculcate in them values that will help them become good human beings. It is important that through the education system our children develop a deep appreciation of their culture and identity and prepare them to carry out the national task while in exile and when we eventually return to our country. Such an initiative will no doubt have far reaching implication in the advancement of our people and our nation for years to come.

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