China’s Oldest University for Tibetan Students Ends Instruction in Tibetan

In a move asserting the dominance of Chinese culture, China’s oldest university for Tibetan and other ethnic minority students has ended classroom instruction in Tibetan, disadvantaging native speakers of the language, students at the school say.

Established in 1958 in Shaanxi province’s Xianyang city as a Tibetan public school, and then re-named in 1965 as the Tibet Minzu University, the school has a current enrollment of over 6,000 students, around half of whom are Tibetans, one student told RFA’s Tibetan Service. “Eleven areas of specialization are taught at the university, but all these courses are taught only in Chinese, which is a problem for us Tibetan students,” RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

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