On 4 December 2025, Chinese authorities detained educationist Chogtrul Dorje Tenzin, an action that led to the closure of the Minthang Ethnic Vocational School, an institution widely regarded for its role in preserving Tibetan language and cultural traditions. Following the shutdown, students were transferred to state-run boarding schools where instruction is conducted primarily in Mandarin, effectively bringing Tibetan-medium education at the school to an end.
A 2024 report by the Tibetan government-in-exile highlighted a sharp decline in enrolment in Tibetan-medium schools, with student numbers falling from 23,684 in 2012 to 13,035 in 2024. The report attributed the drop to a combination of migration, demographic shifts, and policy changes affecting education.
In this report, we look at 15 incidents between 2014 and 2025 that illustrate the expansion of state control over Tibetan education, including the systematic promotion of Mandarin-language instruction and the phased removal of Tibetan-medium schooling across the region.
#1 China Detained Tibetan Educator and Shut Down Minthang School in Tibet – 4 December 2025 – Golog Prefecture, Tibetan region
Chinese authorities detained educationist Chogtrul Dorje Tenzin, head of Minthang Monastery and the Minthang Ethnic Vocational School. Following his detention, the school, respected since 2010 for preserving Tibetan language, arts, and traditional knowledge, was shut down. Students were compelled to move to Mandarin-based state-run boarding schools, effectively ending Tibetan-medium education at the institution. Chogtrul Dorje Tenzin’s growing influence as both a Buddhist teacher and a cultural educator has long drawn the attention of Chinese authorities, who are increasingly intolerant of independent Tibetan educational initiatives. The closure dismantled a key institution preserving Tibetan language and cultural knowledge, reducing access to Tibetan-medium learning and weakening the transmission of traditional and monastic-linked education.
#2 Mass Forcible Placement of Tibetan Children in Chinese-Run Boarding Schools – 12 July 2025 – Tibet (including Amdo and Kham regions)
A report revealed that nearly one million Tibetan children have been forcibly placed in Chinese administration-run boarding schools, including approximately 100,000 preschoolers aged 4-6 and around 900,000 children and adolescents aged 6-18. These institutions separate children from their families, restrict Tibetan language use, and impose political indoctrination that undermines Tibetan cultural identity. The system suppresses Tibetan-medium learning, disrupts cultural and linguistic transmission across all age groups, and accelerates assimilation by prioritising Mandarin instruction and state-directed ideological teaching.
#3 Chinese Authorities Intensify Restrictions on Tibetan Monastic Education in Amdo – 20 March 2025 – Amdo region (Qinghai)
Chinese authorities imposed strict bans on minors in monasteries, dismantled monastic schools, and placed surveillance personnel to monitor monk activities. Over 1,000 young monks were forcibly removed from the two Kirti Monasteries and transferred to government-run schools, where they underwent months of political indoctrination. Students who resisted faced detentions, and several removed from Muge Monastery attempted suicide due to abuse. These measures severely weaken monastic learning, block religious training for minors, and accelerate cultural assimilation by replacing Tibetan Buddhist education with state-controlled, Mandarin-based instruction.
#4 China Expands Patriotic Education Campaign and Curtails Tibetan-Language Instruction in Schools – Late February-March 2025 – Multiple Tibetan regions, including Ngaba, Kardze, Malho, Sangchu, Barkham, Chabcha, and Lhasa
As schools reopened, Chinese authorities escalated patriotic education by requiring loyalty pledges, banning all religious activity, and enforcing strict surveillance of teachers. A new directive titled “Two Absolute Prohibitions and Five Strictly Forbidden Items” explicitly forbids any religious practice or symbolism in schools. Tibetan-language instruction is being reduced or eliminated, major subjects are shifting entirely to Chinese, and many Tibetan language teachers have been dismissed. These policies hasten the dismantling of Tibetan-language learning, suppress cultural and religious expression, and deepen assimilation through a fully Chinese-dominated education system.
#5 China Imposes New Restrictions on Tibetan Children During Winter Break – Beginning 30 December 2024 – Lhasa, Golog (Qinghai), Dzoge, Ngaba, Kardze, and other Tibetan regions
With the start of winter break, students were prohibited from receiving Tibetan-language tutoring or taking any lessons outside state-approved content. In regions such as Dzoge and Ngaba, children were also forbidden from wearing Tibetan religious symbols or participating in religious activities, and parents were barred from taking them to monasteries. All non-state-approved academic teaching was strictly prohibited. These restrictions further suppress Tibetan-language learning, prevent cultural and religious participation among children, and advance assimilation by mandating Mandarin proficiency and political indoctrination in place of Tibetan cultural education.
#6 China Intensifies Sinicization in Tibet with Military Control at Larung Gar and Plans to Eliminate Tibetan from College Entrance Exams – 20-30 December 2024 – Larung Gar Buddhist Academy, eastern Tibet
China stationed approximately 400 troops at Larung Gar, imposed strict residency limits on monks and nuns, and ordered Chinese students to leave the academy. Simultaneously, authorities advanced plans to remove Tibetan from college entrance exams and expanded Mandarin-only education, further restricting Tibetan cultural and religious expression. Eliminating Tibetan from key exams and enforcing Mandarin instruction undermine Tibetan-language learning and accelerate assimilation, weakening the survival of Tibetan cultural and educational traditions.
#7 China Shuts Down Lhamo Kirti Monastery School and Transfers Students to State-Run Residential Schools – November 2024 – Sichuan province, including Lhamo Kirti Monastery
Chinese authorities forcibly transferred around 200 students from the Lhamo Kirti Monastery school to state-administered residential schools, following the complete shutdown of the monastic institution. Four Tibetan youths who resisted the transfer were detained, subjected to political re-education, and compelled to enroll in a government school. These actions are part of China’s broader effort to promote loyalty to the CCP, expand Mandarin-only education, and tighten control over Tibetan Buddhism through surveillance, restrictions, and assimilation policies.
#8 China Detains Four Tibetan Teens for Resisting Transfer from Monastic School to State-Run Institutions – 2 October 2024 – Lhamo Kirti Monastery, Sichuan province
Chinese authorities detained four Tibetan boys aged 15-18 after they resisted being moved from the Tibetan-language Lhamo Kirti Monastery school to government-run Mandarin-only schools. The monastery school, which taught Buddhist studies and Tibetan language, was shut down in July 2024 on the grounds that students under 18 were “too young” for monastic education. Following their resistance, the boys were held on 2 October 2024 and subjected to several days of political re-education before being released and forced to attend a state-run school.
#9 China Shuts Down Jigme Gyaltsen School After 30 Years in Golog, Qinghai – 12 July 2024 – Golog (Golok), Qinghai province
After operating for 30 years, the Jigme Gyaltsen Nationalities Vocational High School was liquidated by Chinese authorities. Despite its strong academic reputation and state recognition, the school was targeted for offering Tibetan- and Chinese-medium instruction, teaching Tibetan culture, and employing monks. Investigations into alleged underage monastic students and politically motivated charges against the principal preceded the shutdown. The school was officially closed on 12 July 2024, shortly after its final graduation ceremony.
#10 China Expels Tibetan Language Teacher in Ngaba for Promoting Tibetan in Schools – April 2024 – Meruma Central Primary School
Tibetan teacher Dhonyoe was interrogated several times and expelled from his school after encouraging students to use the Tibetan language, which is now banned in the curriculum. His teaching license was suspended, and the school has replaced Tibetan-medium instruction with intensified Mandarin teaching under state “uniformity” policies. The expulsion reflects growing restrictions on Tibetan-language teaching, further reducing students’ access to their native language and accelerating the shift toward Mandarin-only education. Individual teachers who attempt to preserve Tibetan language instruction faced professional consequences including loss of employment and teaching credentials.
#11 China Enforces Ban on Tibetan Children Taking Private Classes or Joining Religious Activities During Winter Break – 9 January 2024 – Lhasa, Labrang, Yushu (Qinghai)
Chinese authorities conducted door-to-door checks and inspected residential and commercial areas to enforce a ban on Tibetan children taking private Tibetan-language classes or participating in religious activities during winter break. A new Education Department notice ordered intensified surveillance, strict penalties, and investigation of any out-of-school lessons not approved by the state. Parents were instructed to prevent children from receiving religious education or visiting places of worship, while only government-authorized supplementary classes were permitted. These measures further restricted children’s access to Tibetan-language learning and sever their connection to religious traditions, accelerating cultural assimilation by limiting all non-state forms of education.
#12 Kardze Prefecture to Eliminate Tibetan Language Classes Across All Schools from 2024 – 12 October 2023 – Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province
Under China’s broader Sinicization campaign, authorities in Kardze Prefecture ordered all 20 counties to remove Tibetan-language classes from school curricula starting in 2024. A new Education Bureau circular expanded an earlier directive that had already banned Tibetan-language teaching in middle schools. Tibetan teachers with Mandarin proficiency were being reassigned to teach in Chinese, while others faced displacement. The prefecture-wide elimination of Tibetan-language classes dismantles remaining spaces for Tibetan-medium learning, displaces Tibetan teachers, and accelerates assimilation by enforcing Mandarin-only instruction throughout the entire school system.
#13 China Imposes Ideological Restrictions on Tibetan Students Seeking University Admission – 22 April 2022 – Tibet Autonomous Region
China’s Ministry of Education issued new university admission regulations for Tibet requiring that “ideological and political morality” be the main criterion for acceptance. Beyond academic performance, candidates must prove they have never supported activities linked to the Dalai Lama, “separatism,” or any so-called “illegal” religious movements. Local Communist Party offices were tasked with verifying each student’s political loyalty. These politicized admission rules restrict access to higher education for Tibetan youths, reinforce ideological control, and marginalize students who value Tibetan cultural or religious identity. The policy strengthens systemic barriers to university entry and deepens the CCP’s assimilation agenda.
#14 China Bans Tibetan Students from Religious Activities and Removes Underage Monks to State-Run Schools – 25 July 2018 – Lhasa (Tibet Autonomous Region), Zachuka region and Sershul County (Sichuan Province)
Chinese authorities banned Tibetan schoolchildren from participating in any religious activities during summer vacation, requiring students and parents to sign agreements pledging compliance. Schools repeatedly reinforced the ban through class and parent meetings. Citing education laws separating religion from schooling, officials justified the restriction as legally mandated. These measures sever children’s access to religious learning, forcibly dismantle early monastic education, and undermine cultural continuity by replacing traditional Tibetan instruction with state-run, Mandarin-based schooling aligned with CCP ideology.
#15 China Expands University System in Tibet but Tibetan Students Marginalized in Key Subjects – 9 May 2014 – Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR)
China reported six universities in TAR with 27,000 students and celebrated the University of Tibet’s inclusion in Project 211. However, Tibetan students mainly accessed traditional Tibetan studies, while modern science and technology programs remained dominated by Chinese students despite large state investments. The expansion offered limited benefit to Tibetans, reinforcing unequal access to key academic fields and narrowing opportunities for advancement beyond state-approved cultural subjects. This structural marginalization ensures that even when educational opportunities exist, Tibetan students face barriers to entering fields that would provide economic and professional advancement.
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