This article is a continuation of the article titled "Tibet: illiteracy rate expected to drop among Tibetan children" , that appeared in our previous newsletter.
History of Tibetan Education System
Since the Chinese occupation of Tibet and it's declaration of Tibet as a part of the People's Republic of China on October 1st 1949, Tibetan's have continually struggled to uphold their religion, culture and language against the Chinese onslaught.
10th March 1959 saw that biggest uprising against the Chinese. Thousands of Tibetans took to the streets and when the Chinese armed forces began shelling his residence, the Dalai Lama, considered the Religious and State head of Tibet, was forced to flee his country to India. 10, 000 Tibetans escaped the Chinese along with him.
The cultural revolution in Tibet begins in 1965 with the demolition of 98 percent of the monasteries and systematic eradication of Tibetan culture. Today, Tibetans are not allowed to practice their religion since the Communist party of China does not believe in religion. The medium of education in Tibet in Chinese not Tibetan. The Tibetan flag is outlawed Tibet and Tibetan children are taught what is termed "Patriotic Education", which is a campaign maligning their religious head, His Highness the Dalai Lama.

THE CURRENT SITUATION

In our previous newsletter, we wrote about an  article reported by Xinhua News Agency, which is the state controlled news agency in China. The article proudly mentioned that since the Chinese occupation, the Chinese government has established a network of primary and secondary schools, universities and technical colleges. All catering to providing education controlled and monitored by the Chinese government
The article quoted that the illiteracy rate among young children was expected to drop to five percent by 2007. We ask, 'of what use is an education that teaches you to hate your own land, your own culture and disrespect your own culture?'. Education provided in Tibetan schools to Tibetan children is taught by teachers recruited in China. The curriculum they follow is designed by China, propagates the philosophy of the Communist Party of China and deries the independence struggle of the Tibetan people.
International support for the uphill task that the Tibetan people have undertaken, to fight for their freedom- religious, cultural, and political is greatly hampered by China's power and relations with various nations. The United Nations has remained a non-existent entity in bringing justice to the Tibetan people.
ACR is deeply apologetic to it's readers for publishing an article which was extremely one-sided out of context. We support the cause of 'freedom' in Tibet and hope to raise global consciousness on the situation of the Tibetan people.

For More Information on Tibet visit:
Tibet Information Network (TIN) [http://www.tibetinfo.net/]
Tibetan Bulletin [http://tibetnews.com/]