The Jigme Gyaltsen Nationalities Vocational High School was praised even by Communist authorities. But that it preserved Tibetan culture could not be tolerated.
by Lopsang Gurung
The Jigme Gyaltsen Nationalities Vocational High School in Golog (also spelled Golok) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai province, has been liquidated by the Chinese authorities on July 12. More than 90% of the inhabitants of Golog Prefecture are Tibetans and the area is part of historical Tibet, even if China assigned it to Qinghai province.
Jigme Gyaltsen was not any school. It was established in 1994 by a famous Tibetan teacher, Ragya Jigme Gyaltsen, and went on to win awards from the Chinese administration itself. It grew from the original 86 of 1994 to more than 1,000 students. Of the 2,559 students who graduated there in thirty years, 742 went on to college and 13 became tenured university professors. Alumni of Jigme Gyaltsen published more than 300 books and hundreds of articles in peer-reviewed journals. The school was featured as a model educational institution in several Chinese TV shows.
However, in the eye of the Chinese authorities Jigme Gyaltsen had an original sin. While proud of its courses in computer science, engineering, and medicine, the school taught pupils in both Tibetan and Chinese language, offered courses in Tibetan culture, had monks as teachers, and counted among its alumni distinguished monastic administrators. It thus became a victim of the Chinese effort to eradicate Tibetan culture from Qinghai.
It all started with the legal prosecution of the founder and principal, Ragya Jigme Gyaltsen, on trumped up charges of taking bribes, and of some students accused to use the symbols of Tibet’s national flag, which are banned in China. Earlier this year, the principal was found not guilty, yet he was excluded from the Tibetan Nationalities Council, of which he was a member. An investigation was launched to determine whether among pupils there were monks and nuns who had taken their monastic vows before turning 18, which is illegal under Chinese law.
Although investigations were inconclusive, on July 12 the authorities announced that the school had been liquidated, just days after what turned out to have been the last graduation ceremony, held on July 8.
In a social media post dated July 14, Ragya Jigme Gyaltsen captured the general mood of sadness, and what the institution was all about: “To Jigme Gyaltsen Nationalities Vocational School of Golok: even if you are only thirty, you are still young and healthy, so what a pity. But what is impermanent is never permanent. It is the inevitable law of impermanence that things change from moment to moment. We believe in rebirth and that education through a series of lives is the most important thing. Why not pray for education in future lives? If death cannot be revived, what is the use of wailing? Therefore, it is best to pray for a perfect body in future lives. Please do not be sad but take responsibility for your future.”
