Education

Education is one of the highlights of Tibetan accomplishments in exile. Not only is total school enrollment in the refugee community at 85% to 90%, but for the past two decades, thousands of Tibetans have escaped from Tibet so that they too, or their children, might receive an education in an exile school where Tibetan language and cultural values are preserved within a modern curriculum.

Over 28,000 students study in 77 schools administered by the Central Tibetan Administration’s Department of Education and located in or near Tibetan settlements in India, Nepal, and Bhutan. One beloved institution in the refugee community is the Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV). Originally formed as a school for Tibetan orphans in the early 1960s, TCV now has 17 schools throughout India with over 11,500 students attending, including those from destitute families or who have recently escaped from Tibet. TCV runs schools for adult students, most of who did not have access to education in Chinese-occupied Tibet and has broken ground for a College for Higher Studies in Bangalore. Another autonomous educational institution is the Tibetan Homes Foundation in Mussorie, which runs two schools serving more than 2,200 students.

A large number of Tibetan high school graduates receive scholarships to study in colleges in India and abroad. The Tibet Fund alone has brought more than 350 students to the United States under the Fulbright Scholarship Program since 1991. Many Tibetans also graduate from the Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies in Sarnath, and the Norbulingka Institute of Tibetan Culture at Sidhpur, near Dharamshala.

Traditional Buddhist education is available in Tibetan monasteries and nunneries throughout India, Nepal and Bhutan. Tibetans living further abroad, in Europe, North America, and elsewhere, have also created weekend schools for Tibetan children to learn Tibetan language, culture, and performing arts. In terms of both secular and religious education, the generations of Tibetans born in exile are a highly-educated group.

Links:
Department of Education

Tibetan Children’s Village

Tibetan Homes Foundation

The Tibet Fund

Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies

Norbulingka Institute of Tibetan Culture

Monasteries and Nunneries