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HIGHER EDUCATION

The question of higher for Tibetans was raised in the late 1960's ,when the first batch of students completed their schooling . We had little experience of soliciting scholarships for college education, but made a general appeal on behalf of our students with ability that they might be able to pursue the training of their choice.

Later we came to be the opinion that students should be strongly encouraged to follow practical training rather than purely academic study(except for the few exceptionally gifted and intellectual students); this was because we felt that the needs of the Tibetan people in exile call for young graduates with specifically practical skills to applied in the schools, hospitals and fields of the settlements.

The constant handicap faced by our young people is lack of funds, for neither they nor their parents can afford the comparatively high fees demanded by further education institutes in India. The government of India kindly grants fifteen scholarships annually to Tibetan school leavers who gain first division in their final examinations, but this is insufficient to cope with increasing numbers of Tibetans completing their schooling each year and having both the desire and aptitude for further training . The chart below gives an idea of the situation.

Year No of School-Leavers No. at College

1977 308 43

1978 363 ---

1979 405 32

1980 486 40

In an effort to educate more of our school -leavers, we launched a scholarship fund appeal last year, asking for sympathetic individuals to sponsor one or more Tibetan students through college. Support is requested for three categories of higher education, as follows:

Degree course for undergraduates and postgraduates in Arts, Science, Commerce, Agriculture and Engineering. While it is desirable to equip the Tibetan Community with a few such experts who can play an important advisory role, less emphasis is placed on this academic study than the second category, which is
Career Courses, vocational and technical. This includes all trades and skills that can be usefully applied in the Tibetan settlements, for self-employment purposes, or for employment in any eventuality whether in exile or on the return to Tibet. By far the majority of young Tibetans who have gone through college in the last few years or who are there now, fit into this category and study one of variety of subjects. These include: medicines (doctors and nurses) teaching, agricultural economics, accountancy, mechanics, handicrafts(practice and teaching), secretarial work, hotel management and physical training .

The cost of further education naturally vary a great deal, depending on the nature of the course. However a rough approximation, based on the rates at Indian institutions, can give indication of the expense involved.

Course Duration
in Yrs. Cost
per annum
in Rs. Cost
per annum
in US $

Degree(BA,BSc,MA,MSc) 2-3 4800-5200 686-743

Vocational /Technical

Career -Oriented 1-3 3610 $516

MBBS 5 5800 $829

Correspondence

Postgraduate 2 1100 $157

Undergraduate 3 1000 $143

Taking the rate of Rs.7=$ 1

The relief organizations which have offered their help through this council for higher education scholarships include Swiss Aid to Tibetans, the German Ecumenical Scholarship program, united Methodist committee on relief, Brett Vocational Training Fund of Canada, the Tibetan Australian Friendship Group and the Tibet Relief Fund of the UK.

The council and all the students concerned are most grateful for this generous aid, which has enabled many of our students to attend college or do correspondence courses at home. In addition, quite a number of school -leavers have arranged private sponsorships for themselves with individual foreign benefactors. Thus it is true that significant progress has been made, although the dearth of scholarships still presents a problem.

Tibetan Education, 20 Years in Exile, 1980 edition