Chinese officials have come under fire from human rights activists for compelling Tibetan kids to attend state-run boarding schools, with Beijing accused of undermining Tibetan culture and identity through an assimilation policy. The Tibet Action Institute, set up by Tibetan-Canadian activist Lhadon Tethong, published a report on Thursday explaining how young children as aged as four are being indoctrinated to be loyal to the CCP.
The report puts the number of Tibetan children attending these centralized boarding schools in Tibet Autonomous Region and Tibetan districts at about one million, although figures are hard to come by. The last ten years have seen China shut down hundreds of village schools and force families to enroll their children in these schools, which in many cases are far away. Most of the students reside at the schools year-round, where they are restricted from studying the Tibetan language and engaging in religious practice activities essential to maintaining Tibetan identity.
The Tibet Action Institute’s report, sourced from interviews in 2023 and 2024, also records neglect and abuse, such as the tragic situation of a 13-year-old girl with health complications who died after being deprived of timely medical treatment at her school. The report cautions that this forced segregation and cultural oppression are inflicting long-term emotional scarring on Tibetan children.
China dismisses such claims, with Tibetan regional authorities saying the boarding schools offer better education, including Tibetan language and culture courses. But activists and UN officials complain that Beijing is using the education system as a means to assimilate Tibetans into Han Chinese culture and demand pressure from the international community to cease these practices.
Lhadon Tethong called for the international community to act, highlighting the extreme and long-term harm this policy causes to Tibetan children, families, and society at large.
