Publications

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Racial Discrimination in Tibet (2000)

Discrimination in Education

Discriminatory Examinations

It is not surprising that given the difficulties Tibetan students encounter with the Chinese language, abuse and discrimination in the classroom, their examination pass rate is lower than their Chinese co-students. All examination papers, with the exception of the Tibetan language paper, are in Chinese, and immediately place Tibetans at a severe disadvantage to those who use this as their mother tongue. Many refugees have also reported more discriminatory procedures in force in many schools that set would-be Tibetan graduates back even further, particularly when entering the realms of secondary and higher education. Bribery, prejudice and discriminatory pass marks have all been reported as practices hindering Tibetan advancement.

A girl from Derge County revealed that bribery had become almost an expected factor in Entrance exams. "The chances for Chinese students to be accepted at my secondary school were much higher than for Tibetans, because their parents paid bribes to the teachers in order to help their children pass the exam. In the end, it was not the actual exam result that determined whether you were accepted or not, but the amount of money "donated" to specific teachers. Even when a Tibetan student had a higher mark than a Chinese student, the latter was nevertheless placed above them on the list of acceptance.

A 17 year-old girl from Amdo finished her secondary education at Chinese middle school, where she encountered a number of obstacles to her advancement. "Problems arose as I wanted to attend further education. The school authorities did not allow me to participate in the entrance exam for a college in Lhasa because they said my parents were nomads and did not have a ration card. Many other Chinese students - including those with lower grades than me - were permitted to sit the exam because their parents were rich or because they had relatives working in the administration. Academic marks do not seem to matter for further studies - it was the money and connections that counted."

A 26 year-old nun from Nagchu County arrived in Nepal in March 1998 seeking a better education after studying at Nagchu Middle School from the age of 11-18. "There were 600 students in the school, with a high number of Chinese students. Most of the teachers were Chinese, but the turnover rate was quite high so they were less concerned about doing a good job as they would be transferred at the end of the year. Tibetan students had to pay 2000 yuan as an admission fee and thereafter 2000 yuan annually. Chinese students attended at no charge. At the end of the 12th grade, students had to achieve a certain mark in their exams to proceed to higher education. For Tibetans this mark was 590, while the Chinese only had to get 490. Not surprisingly, most of the graduates from my school were Chinese, and each year only a few Tibetans managed to make the grade. This discouraged many students, and many left school early to look for work or just hang around."

A 21 year-old man from Lhasa also reported discriminatory pass marks after escaping to India in September 1999. "I attended a Chinese government primary and secondary school in Lhasa city, where I learnt a little Tibetan, but no English, as we had to choose one or the other. After finishing middle school we were required to sit an entrance exam for a college in Chengdu, Sichuan. Chinese students had to pass papers in Chinese, English and Maths, while the Tibetans in addition had to pass in Tibetan. Of course I failed the English paper, and only by bribing the school authorities with all of my parent's savings did I eventually get a place at the college. In the end, it was money, not marks that helped me get there."