As far as possible, the syllabus and conditions of the schools under CTSA management have been regularized to ensure equal opportunities for all the children. These may be summarized as follows:

SYLLABUS
The CTSA Tibetan school use the syllabus set by the Central Board of Secondary Education(CBSE) in New Delhi, into which they have been incorporated the Tibetan subjects. English is the medium of instruction, while Tibetan is offered as a second language and Hindi as a third. Besides languages, the students are taught Tibetan history and geography, and social studies. In some schools the vocational subjects of arts, woodwork and tailoring are also taught, and almost every school has Physical Education classes.

In 1976 a new educational system was adopted throughout India, and this has now been implemented in every CTSA school. Under the new 10 +2+3 system, students follow a program of general studies up to class X when they sit the ALL India Higher Secondary Examinations. If they obtain good result in these, they specialize in arts, sciences or vocational studies for two years, at the end of which they sit the All India Higher Secondary Examinations. If they obtain good result in these, they sit the All India Senior School Certificate Examinations. CTSA grants fifteen scholarships annually to students who gain First Division in these examinations to undertake a college course, while we at the council try to arrange further training scholarships for other successful candidates, in either academic or career-oriented fields.

TEXT-BOOKS
A Tibetan Text -books Committee was formed in 1960, under the auspices of this Council, to compile and edit standard text-books from primary to secondary level. The Committee consisted of five learned Tibetan scholars, Duejom Rinpoche, Zimey Rinpoche, Ngor Thartsey Rinpoche , Rato Rinpoche and the late Kheme Sonam Wangdue who together prepared text books up to class V. In 1964 a second Committee was formed to prepare books from class VI to XI and revise the earlier ones. This committee consisted of previous five members plus phelyul Tulku, the late Khamtul Rinpoche, Chopgyed Trichen and Geshe Lobsang Tharchin. All these books, once completed, were printed and supplied to the schools through this council.

At the Tibetan Educational Conference in 1972, a decision was taken to revise and update all the Tibetan text-books, for which purpose a Review Committee was subsequently set up in 1975. Geshe Lobsang Gyatso, Geshe Yeshi Namgyal, Jampa Chodak and Lobsang Tenzin Rikha formed this Committee and have so far completed the revision of all the books up to Class VIII.

These text-books may be considered a real achievement of the Tibetan community in exile. Not only are they the first of their kind, but they are also produced to a very high standard and will therefore be of great value to all future generations of Tibetan schoolchildren.

BEST BOY AND GIRL AWARDS
In 1979 we instituted Best Boy and Best Girl awards in all our school, to encourage the children to participate fully in the school and to work hard. Each year the school Heads are asked to select two students from their highest class for these titles, on the basis of academic and extra-circular performance, character and attendance, and inform us at the council. We then send them medallions engraved with the two students names which are subsequently presented to the children at an official school function.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Besides academic subjects, the children pursue recreational activities with vigor. Most schools have a Tibetan music and dance teacher, and this subject is so popular amongst the children that the dance and drama troupes have become a regular feature of the schools, performing for visitors and on festival days.

Other activities include public speaking and general knowledge classes, debating societies , social service groups and sports leagues. The most popular sports are volleyball, badminton, football, basketball and athletics. Inter-school sports tournaments and other activities are encouraged, to instill in the children a healthy sense of competition and a proper understanding of their contemporaries.

STAFFING
In the beginning we are relying almost entirely on Indian teachers in our schools, with the exception of a handful of Tibetan language teachers, and this led to obvious difficulties in communication and understanding because of the language barrier. The situation has improved with the years, however, as more and more Tibetan schools-levers have under taken teachers ' training. Trained Tibetan teachers are especially useful at primary level, when small children invariably find it easier to learn from some one sharing their own mother-tongue. Moreover, most of the teachers come from Tibetan schools themselves, and this common background gives them a good rapport with their young charges.

TEACHERS' TRAINING
More than 250 Tibetans have successfully passed through Teachers Training College since the first students gained admission in 1971. They are either qualified as Elementary teachers (class XI passed and two years of training ); junior teachers (a BA or B.Sc. degree and one year B.Ed training). After completing their training course, they are interviewed by a selection committee of CTSA personnel including a representative of this council, and the successful candidates are then appointed to a teaching post in one of the CTSA schools.

Four separate courses were organized in the 1960's, to train learned monks and laymen with considerable knowledge in Tibetan studies how to teach the Tibetan language , as at this early stage there was a severe shortage of Tibetan language teachers in the exiled community. The courses took place in the years 1960, 1962,1964 and 1965, each one lasting between one and two years and being financed by the Indian Government.

In schools with fever than average students, the CTSA regulations do not allow for a separate Tibetan language teacher to be employed . But the children still need to be taught their mother-tongue, so in 1976 a special six-month course was organized, sponsored by Swiss Aid to Tibetans, to instruct thirty young teachers qualified in other subjects to teach the Tibetan language as well. Altogether there are now about 135 trained teachers in the Tibetan language in our schools.

REFRESHER COURSES AND CONFERENCE
For the benefit of all teachers in the CTSA schools, educational conference and teachers' refresher courses are held periodically. The purpose of such gathering is to enable the teachers to compare notes, to discuss general school conditions and ways to implement improvements. Specifics, such as the composition of Tibetan text-books and the grading of Tibetan teachers, may also be raised for discussion.

PARENTS TEACHERS ASSOCIATIONS
The main aim behind our efforts to establish a Parent Teachers Association in each school was to encourage the parents' involvement in their children's education, and to promote a spirit of co-operation between them and the school teachers, the end result of which would be to benefit the children. Initially a few such Association were started on the parents' own initiative; at the Reorientation Course of 1977, a resolution was passed to follow their example and extend the facility to the other schools. We are happy to say that almost every school now has an active PTA, whose functions may include raising funds for the school, transporting rations and organizing the celebrations on festival days. One such day is the recently established Parents' Day, held on 5th March which is the birthday of His Holiness the Dalai lama's own mother, Gyalyum Chenmo Sonam Tsomo. On this occasion, the parents are warmly thanked for their participation in the life of the school, and encouraged to maintain a close involvement.

INSPECTION
To assess the progress and deal with any problems that arise, each school has a Local Executive Committee, consisting of a local educationalist, representatives of Local Administrative Authority and of the Public Works Department, the local representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Head of the school. These Committees meet once every two months on a average.

In addition to these and resulting from our concern at the poor standard of education in the schools, a special inspection team was formed in1977, following a meeting between His Holiness the Dalai lama and Dr. P.C. Chunder, the then Minister of Education. The team consisted of three leading Indian educationalists, who were accompanied on a tour of fourteen Tibetan schools by the Secretaries of the Council and CTSA.

The team found a disturbing discrepancy between the standards at these Tibetan schools and their Indian counterparts, with the Tibetan school lagging far behind both in academic performance and physical conditions. The team submitted a list of recommendations for improvement to CTSA, including: the quality of teaching should be raised and more Tibetan teachers employed, particularly at primary level ;food bedding and hostel accommodations in the residential schools should be improved ; and more medical facilities were needed in every school. The CTSA authorities, acting upon these recommendations, have begun to implement improvements in the schools.

FOOD
All the schools are facing some difficulties in giving the children nutritious foods, in view of the ever-rising prices of basic foodstuffs. CTSA gives an allowance of 35 paise per child per day to the day schools for a mid -day meal, while in the residential schools part of the parents or sponsor's contribution is used to buy food. In neither case is this sufficient to provide the children with regular nutritious foods or a well-balanced diet . Occasionally, when funds permit, they may be served meat or eggs or fresh fruit; other wise, their diet consists of such staple foods as rice, bread, tsampa (roasted barley flour), vegetables, dal and tea.

Through the Central Relief Services in Delhi, charities and relief agencies periodically donate milk powder to our children and this is of enormous value to the schools enabling them to give the children a drink of milk each day. However, in recent times these donations have lessened in frequency.

HEALTH
The medical facilities for the schools are limited, and there is still much room for improvement in this area. Each residential school has one nurse and the services of a visiting doctor, based on a small dispensary in the school premises; the day schools use their settlement's dispensary-if there is one-but apart form that have no facilities of their own.

In an attempt to meet the needs in this area, a pilot project was launched this year: this was to train one teacher from Manali school in basic first aid and health care for a month at Delek Hospital in Dharamsala. After the training, she returned to Manali to initiate and run a community Health Program based on the school and in liaison with the local Indian hospital.

Such Community Health Programs do much to bridge the gap in areas where there are no adequate medical facilities or qualified staff, and so we are greatly encouraged and thankful for an offer made by Dr BA leach of Brett Vocational Training Fund of Canada, to sponsor more Tibetans to train as Community Health Workers for other schools and settlers what they learn of treatments and preventive measures for common complaints. Such Community Health Programs do much to bridge the gap in areas where there are no adequate medical facilities or qualified staff, and so we are greatly encouraged and thankful for offer made by Dr BA Leach of Brett Vocational Training Fund of Canada, to sponsor more Tibetans to train as Community Health Workers for other schools and settlements, along the lines of the Manali project. One of our major concerns is health education, and Health workers will be encouraged at all times to pass on the settlers what they learn of treatments and preventive measures for common complaints.

This program is a new development in area need among the Tibetans. We are very much hoping that we can attract more aid to further extend the medical facilities in the settlements.