Publications

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Racial Discrimination in Tibet (2000)

Discrimination in Healthcare

Discriminatory Facilities

Despite these fees and miscellaneous charges, the standard of school facilities, particularly in the rural areas with little or no Chinese populations, is very poor. A mixture of cheap materials, shoddy construction and the harsh Tibetan environment have damaged facilities in these areas to such an extent that in some counties more than 20% of the primary school classes, when they can be carried out, are held throughout the year in teacher's homes. According to statistics compiled by the Sports and Education Department, "in the whole of Chamdo Prefecture, 20% of school buildings are in a perilous state", and it is the Tibetans who are suffering. As one rural middle school teacher testified:

"X county secondary school was established in 1982. The school serves 8 counties, some of which are 150kms away. Transport in the area is poor. The nearest tarmac road is 55kms away" The school receives money from the local county education bureau for teachers' salaries, but is largely dependent on donations for other expenses"

The school has four classrooms, all of which are in a bad state of repair. Several have broken windows. They have desks and chairs, some of which are broken. Students sit four to a desk. The school has no facilities for science, music or sport, and no library. In 1995, a new building, which would house six classrooms and teachers' rooms was under construction. It was being funded by donations collected over the past years from the local community. However, the money had run out before the inside of the building was complete."

Funding for renovation and improvement of school facilities is highly discriminatory, with Chinese schools receiving most, if not all, of the financial attention. Tsegyam, who was the Tibetan headmaster of a school in Ngaba "TAP", reported to the International Commission of Jurists that the majority of Tibetan children in his mostly Chinese district did not go to school. He compared his school, whose 160 children were all Tibetan, and the ‘Ngaba Dzong Middle School', a "Chinese stream" school whose 700 children were mostly Chinese. Both schools used Chinese as the medium of instruction, but the Chinese school had much better facilities, including computers and a science laboratory, unlike his, which was heated by fire only and did not even have a playground.

A 44 year-old man from Gyantse County who arrived in India in February 2000 also reported discriminatory facilities. "In my area there were two kinds of schools - those for the children of government officials (mostly Chinese) and those for the farmers' children (mostly Tibetan). The former received special funding from the local authorities, and so they were larger, better equipped schools with many teachers and big classrooms. The schools for the poorer Tibetan children of nomads did not receive any money however, and they were always windy with broken windows and dirty classrooms."

Discrimination is particularly rife in classrooms with both Chinese and Tibetan students. Adolescent refugees interviewed by TCHRD have given numerous examples of the inequality and abuse they faced in schools across Tibet, and cite this discrimination as one of the main factors prompting their escape.

A 14 year-old boy described how the Chinese students in his school were always given favourable treatment. "If we were given books, the Chinese students were always given the new copies in better condition. Ours would have pages missing or would be so old we could hardly read them. Sometimes we were even asked to pay for these books, while the Chinese students received theirs free. When we asked why, we were simply told that the Chinese students were ‘more intelligent' and needed better quality books. Even the teacher looked down on the Tibetans in the class, calling us names and making us clean the classroom on our hands and knees. If a Chinese student made a mistake or was naughty, he would get one lash of the whip, but Tibetans would always get three."

25 year-old Denchok from Sichuan Province described a similar situation in the county secondary school. "There were around 300 students in the school, of whom about one-third was Tibetan and the rest Chinese. All the teachers were Chinese. Textbooks were distributed first among the Chinese students, and then only if there were some left over were they given to Tibetans. Also, whenever there was a dispute between a Tibetan and a Chinese student, the teachers will never look at whose fault it is but straight away punish the Tibetan. We were always looked down on, and called 'uncivilized, backward fools'."

23 year-old Ngawang from Kandze "TAP" went to Derge County Secondary school, but left after two years because of the way he and other Tibetans were treated. "The Chinese teachers used to tell the Tibetan students that they were 'foolish tsampa-eaters who do not have the brain to study', while the Chinese were 'intelligent rice-eaters with a bright future'. Once I took a seat at the front of the classroom because I couldn't see the blackboard well, but the teacher told me I was an 'uncivilized animal' who should sit at the back. I was very angry and shouted 'who do you think you are?' Then she sent me to the staff room where I was beaten by two teachers."

16 year-old Dhondup from Kandze "TAP" in Sichuan Province attended a government-run primary school for 6 years and a middle school for one year before escaping to India in April 2000. "There were between 600-700 students in my middle school, less than a third of whom were Tibetan. Of the 60-70 teachers, only 5 were Tibetan, the rest Chinese. The fees were about 500 yuan per 6 month semester. During class, the teachers always made the Tibetan students sit at the back, and would not pay much attention to them. They focus most of their time and effort on the Chinese students and make sure that they were making good progress, understanding the lesson etc. They would always ask the Chinese students if they were having problems, but when a Tibetan student asked for help, they would simply carry on with the lesson. Whenever a fight broke out between a Tibetan and Chinese student, the Tibetan was fined 20 yuan and punished. If the same student was caught again, they were fined 40 yuan, and on the third occasion they would be expelled. This only happened to Tibetan students however. In general, the Chinese and Tibetan students didn't mix - we felt that it was better that we should stick amongst ourselves."