Chinese authorities in Drakgo county in China occupied Tibet’s traditional Kham province have ordered Tibetans to demolish a Tibetan Buddhist school after falsely alleging that the school has “violated” the dubious land use law, reports Tibet Times.
Gedhen Nangten School, under the administration of Drakgo’s Ganden Rabten Namgyalling Monastery, was reportedly demolished by the school officials on 31 October 2021 after they received the official decree. The decree accused the school of violating land use law when it only applied to local residential buildings, says the report.
As per the report, the Chinese officials ordered the school administration to demolish the school voluntarily within the next three days or face demolition by government forces. The authorities further threatened to confiscate the school furniture and properties as well.
Tibetan children, especially those from a poor financial background, who depend on the school for daily sustenance were evicted and forced to return to their homes following the demolition of the school. In the past, the Chinese authorities had forcefully expelled around 20 students from the school claiming that the students have not reached the appropriate age to attend schools and thus were sent back to their homes.
Gedhen Buddhist School, located in Drakgo, which now belongs to the Sichuan Province, was constructed in 2014 by scholars and monks of Gadhen Rabten Namgyal Ling Monastery. Before its closure, it accommodated around 130 students providing both traditional and modern education that included teaching of the Tibetan, Chinese, and English languages along with grammar and Buddhist philosophy courses.
Tibetan leaders say that such forced closure of the Tibetan schools which have deprived Tibetan children of their right to learn their language and culture is aimed at coercing Tibetan children to join Chinese government schools which feed them syllabus set by the Chinese Communist Party.
Shobhil Shrivastava 
Piyush Anand