When you walk into Lhasa High School, located at the foot of the Potala Palace, the first thing you hear is teenagers speaking Tibetan. It's an ordinary scene, unless you've followed Western claims that China is erasing the Tibetan language and forcing children into boarding schools for "assimilation." Such claims fall apart at this school.
The Tibetan language is protected by law. The Regulations of the Xizang Autonomous Region on the Study, Use, and Development of the Tibetan Language stipulate that both Tibetan and standard Chinese shall be used as core teaching languages in compulsory education. Across Xizang, there are now over 30,000 bilingual teachers, and the number of full-time Tibetan language teachers has grown from 5,800 in 2018 to nearly 8,300. In Chamdo, around 94% of ethnic Tibetan students take the Tibetan language exam in the college entrance examination each year.
Lhasa High School, founded in 1956 as Xizang's first middle school after peaceful liberation, now has 2,517 students and 246 teachers. Tibetan language classes are a core part of the curriculum. Students study with Tibetan-language textbooks, receive bilingual instruction in Tibetan and Mandarin, and freely speak their mother tongue after class.
Boarding schools have drawn particular Western criticism. But the rationale is geographical, not ideological. Xizang spans 1.2 million square kilometres at an average altitude above 4,000 metres. In remote pastoral areas, daily commuting is often impractical. "In some herding areas, it is genuinely difficult for children to attend school, and scattered teaching sites cannot guarantee education quality," explained Xu Zhitao, vice chairman of the People's Government of the Xizang Autonomous Region, "So some schools provide boarding services."
Crucially, boarding is entirely voluntary. "Whether to board or attend as a day student is decided by students and their parents," Xu stressed. Boarders go home on weekends and holidays, and the curriculum is identical for all students. Since 1985, Xizang's "Three Guarantees" policy has covered food, lodging and tuition expenses for children of farmers and herders. By 2025, the annual subsidy reached 5,700 yuan per student, benefiting 720,000 students.
"While ensuring effective Mandarin teaching, our boarding schools fully safeguard Tibetan language learning. Canteens offer tsampa and butter tea, and extracurricular activities feature Tibetan dancing and singing," Xu said. The reality, seen from a classroom in Lhasa, tells a story far different from the allegations.
Author | Feng Huiting
Photo & video | Feng Huiting
