CURRENT STATUS REPORT 1998
Edited by: Tashi Rikha, Joint Secretary; Karma Tensum, Principal, TNMF School, Clement Town
Research & Coedited by: Thupten Chodak, Research Officer
FOREWORD
The formulation of a National Education Policy was envisaged in the Charter of the Tibetan People in Exile and duly enshrined in Article17 (1) under the Directive Principles of the Tibetan Administration.
To implement the formulation of the National Education Policy, the Education Kalon, Mrs. Rinchen Khando Choegyal, appointed a six member National Education Policy Committee with Mr. Ngodup Tsering, Secretary, DOE, as its chairman and Mr. Tashi Norbu Rikha, Joint Secretary, DOE as its Member- Secretary in 1996. Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche, Director of The Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath, U.P. had accepted to be Adviser to this committee.
Initial preparatory work done in this connection by the Academic Research and Planning Wing, DOE, suggested the compilation of a Current Status Report as a necessary first step in the formulation of the National Education Policy. At the NEP Committee first meeting held at Gangchen Kyishong, Dharamsala, on January 25 and 26, 1997, members agreed that an understanding of the current situation in Tibetan schools was necessary before any planning could take place.
Sources of the Report
- DOE Opinion Survey 1997 - 98
Having agreed that an understanding of the current situation in Tibetan schools was necessary, one of the first tasks the NEP Committee undertook was to draft three sets of questionnaires; for students, teachers and school administrators on those key areas where the members felt there might be scope for planning and change. These questionnaires were sent to 15 select secondary schools from whom we received responses from 19 school administrators, 298 teachers and 1290 students.
The opinions and recommendations that were received as feed back from these questionnaires form a very important component of this current status report. We seek to formulate our National Education Policy under unique circumstances and an insight into the opinions of students, teachers and school administrators on key issue might prove invaluable to planners. For the purpose of this report, the above mentioned study shall be referred to as the DOE Opinion Survey 1997/98.
- DOE Information Survey 1998
The opinion questionnaires were supported by a series of fact finding Performa that the DOE circulated - this time to all Tibetan schools. The responses to these Performa not only provided current statistics on various aspects of the Tibetan education scenario but also allowed us to study trends over a period of ten years in key areas like enrolment, drop outs etc.
- Integrated Development Plan- IDP II Document 1994
Prior to the current studies mentioned above, the studies and surveys done in connection with the Tibetan Integrated Development Program seem to be the most comprehensive one. The IDP II document provided useful information and figures on various aspects and was specially useful in studying changes in streams of study at the senior secondary level and in the fields of further study between now and 1994.
- DOE Information Booklet 1995/96.
This booklet complimented the information contained in the IDP II document, besides providing separate and useful information of its own.
- Education Codes of major school categories
Focus and Orientation
This current status report is written basically to facilitate the formulation of the National Education Policy. A lot of inputs have gone into its compilation and so it may also serve as a useful reference material on various issues related to Tibetan education in exile.
The focus, emphasis and aim of this report is to help planners to formulate the National Education Policy. As such, key areas of education like academic curriculum has received only a cursory mention because at this point of time we do not envisage that the Tibetan schools can adopt an autonomous academic curriculum separate and independent from that of the Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi. The focus throughout the report has been on those areas where change and planning may be possible.
Outputs
The following are the out puts expected from this study:
an overview of the current thinking and approaches of school administrators, teachers and students on a wide range of issues related to Tibetan education in exile and specific recommendations from them on vital issues;
information on current school enrolment figures and enrolment trends over a period of 10 years ( 1988-97 ) in Tibetan schools;
information about drop- out figures for various schools levels and drop- out trends at various school levels over 5 to 6 year,
a detailed qualitative and quantitative study of school personnel at all school levels;
present a picture about the current status of available infrastructure in Tibetan schools; what infrastructures are adequate, inadequate or lacking in our schools;
information about higher studies finance - the number of scholarships awarded by DOE, TCV and THF over the last three years, which in turn provide information about the areas of further study currently pursued by Tibetan school graduates;
a brief look at the main sources and uses of educational finance available to the Tibetan community;
an in depth study of the academic performance of Tibetan children through graphic presentations of the CBSE Exam results for both class X and XII over a period of 10 years (1988 - 1997) and graphic presentations of the results of the Annual Exams for all other school levels for the same period;
Understand the status and working conditions of teachers by studying the current range of starting salaries offered to teachers at all levels in different Tibetan schools, together with the availability of benefits like Provident Fund, free children's education and staff quarters;
get an overview of the current teaching practices in our schools and information about the number of in service training courses attended by school administrators and teachers at various levels over the last three years;
briefly examine the enrolment and programs offered in the Tibetan institutes of higher studies established in exile;
take a look at the location , category, and current school levels of all the Tibetan schools in exile;
information and focus on the enrolment of girls at all school levels and in further studies;
a brief look at the current status of health services in our schools
In the process of formulating the National Education Policy, our hope is that the appraisal of the current existing education situation in this report, will facilitate educators and planners to identify the main problem areas for which policy prescriptions are needed. This report will then have served its purpose in providing the initial platform to develop a National Education Policy.
We would like to thank all the students, teachers and school administrators for their cooperation in our work.
We owe a special vote of thanks to Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche, the Adviser to the National Education Policy committee for finding the time to attend our meetings despite the pressures on his time, and offering invaluable insight on many key issues.
We are also indebted to Prof. Satya Bhushan, Former vice-chancellor, Jammu University, Former Director of National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration,(NIEPA),New Delhi and an Education Advisor to the Govt. of Mauritius and Shri. Baldev Mahajan, Former Director, NIEPA, New Delhi, for their guidance in giving this document its final shape.
Dr. Jandhyala B.G. Tilak, Senior Fellow and Head, Education Finance Unit, NIEPA, New Delhi provided us with invaluable advice on the process guidelines in the formulation of the National Education Policy. We thank him for his assistance.
Go to Chapter 1: Administration of schools and the structure of education.
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Administration of schools..
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School curriculum
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Academic standards & text books
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Enrolment retention & drop outs
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Higher education
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Vocational institutions
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Educational finance
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Teacher status & education
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School personnel
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School infrastructure
- Education of girls
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