EDUCATION

More than seventy percent of the Tibetan population is illiterate or semi-illiterate. This is caused by a lack of schools in the countryside and the high fees for education. According to Chinese policy, admission to schools should be free, but in reality, the fees for registration, books and uniforms are often too expensive for Tibetan families. The children that do go to school experience language problems due to the fact that most of the lessons are given in Chinese and not in Tibetan.

The schools in Tibet do not teach students about Tibetan culture, history or Buddhism. It is even forbidden to mention the name of the Dalai Lama. As a result of the lack of education, Tibetans have a subordinate position in their own country, with the skilled and well-paid jobs in the hands of Chinese people.

A lot of children escape via Nepal to India in order to get better education. They make a long, arduous and dangerous journey across the Himalayas. If they reach India safely, they are received by the Tibetan community in exile and get shelter in one of the so-called children villages.