China has banned the teaching and use of the Tibetan language at elementary and middle schools in two Tibetan-populated regions in southwestern China and has ordered all instructions in schools to be in Mandarin.
Tibetan activists fear that China’s recent move can lead to the extinction of the Tibetan language in the regions – and could endanger its viability across the country.
The ban has been ordered in government-run schools in Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Ngaba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, starting with the fall semester that began in September, a Tibetan source said, as per RFA.
The source said that middle school students currently enrolled can finish the next two years of studies in Tibetan, but starting in 2025, all classes will be held in Mandarin, the person said.
State-run schools in the region taught Tibetan language classes to students and subjects including mathematics, science, physics, geography, history and social studies were conducted in Tibetan. Mandarin was also taught as a language course.
The Chinese government has now expedited the teaching of all school subjects in Mandarin in schools in the 12 counties comprising Ngaba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in what it said was an effort to raise education standards, teachers and parents of students said.
The recent ban is part of China’s wider “Sinicization” program that has also restricted the language and culture of Uyghurs and other minorities in China – despite protections in China’s Constitution that permit minority groups to use their own language in their own regions.
A person who declined to be identified out of concern for their safety said, “On the pretext of the government’s program, China is trying to completely wipe out the Tibetan language.”
“China’s use of soft atrocities, instead of forcible measures, is leading to the complete annihilation of Tibetan society and education, with no scope for revival,” the source said.
