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[
back ] Dharamsala, 21 August 2002 (TCHRD) - According to reliable information received from Tibet, Tsa-Sur school (translit: tsha zur) popularly known as Tsang-Sul school, a private Tibetan school in Lhasa, was reportedly closed by the Chinese government at the end of July 2002. The school was first founded in 1988 through the joint efforts of three Tibetan individuals to promote and preserve Tibetan language. In its initial years the school was run on voluntary contributions by the students, but later it attracted funding from abroad. The majority of the teachers were former political prisoners or people with history of political activities. The first principal of the school, Lobsang Yonten alias Tsang-Sul Shangla, was detained for eight months in May 1993 when he attempted to hand over documents to a visiting European delegation in Lhasa. He passed away on 30 October 1994. After Lobsang Yonten's death, Topgyal took over and ran the school up until its closure. The popularity of Tsangsul School was based on its minimal school fees and high standard of teaching. Upto the Middle School level, similar curriculum was followed as in other schools, except that Tibetan was the main subject, followed by Chinese, Maths, and English. According to one refugee who arrived in 1995, there were 120 students then, with no restrictions or conditions imposed on the students. In 2002, the school had 500 students, of whom 60 students-all orphans-received free education while the others, who generally were unable to pay the exorbitant fees asked by other schools, paid a nominal fee of 20 Yuan per semester. There were 12 teachers in the school with Topgyal as the director, administrator and the main teacher. According to information provided by former students who spoke to TCHRD, the school was progressing well. However since 2001, problems were caused by the local government school, Yuethong School no. 1. Parents started removing their children from the government school to admit them to Tsangsul School, and the authorities of the government school blamed Tsangsul School for their dwindling student population." Local residents believe that the rising popularity of the school as well as the school's failure to follow the government's demands to collect higher school fees were catalysts for the closure. Government authorities apparently alleged that the school was affiliated with the 'Dalai Clique'. The school campus and classrooms had been rented from a local family. However, after the recent government orders, the landlord was no longer permitted to rent the premise for schooling purposes. All the teachers are now unemployed and the fate of the children unknown [
photo | sonam zoksang |
