Tibet boarding schools: China accused of trying to silence language - BBC News

Mandarin is being taught to Tibetans as their main language, threatening the future of their culture.

1 day agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Fewer Tibetans are learning their own language as more people are taught Mandarin ChineseBy Micky BristowBBC NewsTibetan educational sociologist Gyal Lo can speak Mandarin Chinese fluently - but he would rather not.

He has spent the last few years telling the world about Beijing's sweeping educational reforms in Tibetan areas, and would prefer not to use the language of people he identifies as colonial oppressors.

China has expanded the use of boarding schools - for children as young as four - and replaced Tibetan as the main language of tuition with Chinese.

Beijing says these reforms give Tibetan children the best possible preparation for their adult lives, in a country where the main language of communication is Mandarin Chinese.

But Dr Gyal Lo disagrees - he believes Beijing's real aim is to undermine the Tibetan identity, by targeting the very youngest in society.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-68492043

---