Tibetans in exile have successfully integrated modern education with cultural preservation under the Dalai Lama’s visionary leadership.
Author
Tenzin Dolma, International Institute for Higher Education, O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU), Sonipat, Haryana, India
Summary
The Tibetans in exile have made tremendous progress in the field of education, due mainly to the unwavering and dedicated efforts of the fourteenth Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), Dharamsala, India. Given their small population in exile and limited resources, their achievement in education under exilic conditions is remarkable and deserving of attention. The Tibetans were introduced to public mass education through a standardized education system for the first time in Tibetan history after 1959. In Tibet before 1959, the education system was of two kinds: the monastic education system, which focused on religious studies, and the government official training schools, which were purported mainly to train officials. There were private schools in Tibet, but their number was so small compared to the size and population of the country. This article explores how the Tibetans in exile embraced and incorporated modern education while preserving their culture in Tibetan schools. It focuses on His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s purpose of establishing separate schools in India, and his concept of education with special reference to Tibetans. The paper also attempts to show how the Tibetan government in exile took various steps to achieve the purpose and goal that has been set in the farsighted vision of the Dalai Lama.
Published in: Tibet in Exile: Politics, Psychology and Culture of the Tibetan Diaspora
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