Educating Everyone

　　New education models in Qinghai’s Tibetan-inhabited region prove successful

　　Ji Caiben is a Tibetan pupil in the third grade at the Ethnic Boarding Primary School in Gonghe County， Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China’s Qinghai Province. There are 57 students in Ji’s class， with almost half of them being Han and the other half Tibetan.

　　“I don’t think we are any different， as we have classes and play together，” he smiled shyly. “I love to stay at school.”

　　Living in a remote pastoral area， it used to take more than an hour for Ji to get back home from school. So like most of his classmates from pastoral areas， he has come to this state-run boarding school， and only goes home at the end of every month to see his family.

　　Hainan is home to 27 ethnic groups， including Tibetan， Mongolian， Han and Hui. Tibetans in particular account for 65 percent of the local population. As many of them live in remote pastoral areas lacking education resources， the local government integrated the original 372 primary and middle schools in the region into 66 in 2005， helping 38，000 students in remote areas relocate to towns with better education facilities.

　　Striking features

　　Every year， the local government offers a living allowance of 2，000 yuan ($330) to every student attending Ji school and the students’ parents only need to pay 500 yuan ($83). The school also provides the students with free meals.

　　In the past， Tibetan children were often absent from classes in April and May to dig for an expensive herb called aweto， which could help their families bring in incomes. Nowadays， thanks to the greatly upgraded education quality and remarkably increased living allowance for students， parents take their children to schools voluntarily， according to Hua Bentai， Director of the Education Bureau of Hainan.

　　The Ethnic Boarding Primary School offers two types of classes， classes taught in Tibetan or in Chinese. Starting in the third grade， as with all pupils across the country， students at the school begin to take English classes.

　　Students choose which language they want to study in. Generally speaking， students from towns like to take Chinese classes， while those from pastoral areas prefer Tibetan， as for the latter this is the language they use in their daily lives. Students who don’t speak Chinese do not need to worry about any possible language barriers in future higher education， either， because the Beijing-based Minzu University of China and Lanzhou-based Northwest University for Nationalities in Gansu Province， among other specialty universities， all offer courses in indigenous languages including Tibetan.

　　In order to promote Tibetan culture， the school assigns three days’ morning exercise to guozhuang， also known as Tibetan Bonfire dancing， every week. Members of the school’s drum team also wear traditional Tibetan dress while performing in public.

　　In Hainan， the No.1 Minority High School is also a boarding school， with a large number of Tibetan students. The school also offers classes in two different languages.

　　Given that many students in the school grow up in a Tibetan-language environment， teachers spend their extracurricular time translating teaching materials from Chinese into Tibetan， so that Tibetan students can read and learn easily. Most of the materials they translate are math and science textbooks， which pose big challenges to the teachers. Nevertheless， their hard work not only benefits the school， but is also helpful to other high schools in similar situations， as this is the first time that such textbooks have been translated into the Tibetan language.

　　Besides， the school pays a lot of attention to making its education unique and outstanding in one or two aspects.

　　Yinmingxue， known as hetuvidyā in Sanskrit， is a way of explaining logic with Buddhism that is practiced in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries. It was introduced into the school’s curriculum in 2007. Two sides debate aspects from Buddhist scriptures that they claim disagree with each other.

　　According to the school， by adopting this method， the school combines Tibetan culture with modern educational approaches to develop students’ logic and thinking abilities. Every week， the school has a theory class and also a practice class for yinmingxue. Students are encouraged to argue with their classmates on problems they come across in various disciplines. Apart from regular classes， there are also relevant contests and also extracurricular activity groups.

　　Moreover， the school set up a baseball team in 2007. The program bridges team members with their peers in other parts of the country， as they were sent to schools in east China’s Jiangsu Province during summer and winter vacations for exchanges. Proficient students also have opportunities to participate in summer training camps and compete against athletes from across the country.

　　Last year， Xianba Cairang from the school won the title of Fine Player at the Pony Baseball World Series Asia-Pacific Zone Tournament， which was held in Seoul， South Korea， between July 29 and August 2， 2013.

　　Vocational training

　　The state-run Hainan Prefecture Vocational and Technical School has a student base that is 87 percent Tibetan， and 97 percent of its Tibetan students come from rural and pastoral areas. Due to economic difficulties， some of those students had received little education before attending the school.

　　Eleven disciplines， such as automobile maintenance， Tibetan medicine， accounting， and traditional handicrafts like tangka painting and Tibetan embroidery， are offered at the school. The students don’t need to worry about daily life during their three years’ study， thanks to the government’s provision of living allowances for them.

　　Every summer， teachers from the school visit the surrounding rural and pastoral areas to tell local people about the courses and programs available at the school. More importantly， given that many families in these areas are not well-off financially， the school emphasizes the government policy that allows free accommodation and food to students. Gradually， when more and more students graduate from the school， they can tell people in their hometowns about what they have learned and received at the school. In recent years， the school’s enrollment has kept growing.

　　Yang Ben is a 17-year-old student from a local pastoral area. His family herds sheep and cattle. Life is not difficult for them， but Yang said that he did not want to spend his whole life raising domestic animals. Knowing that the vocational school offered him opportunities， he decided to come here to study automobile maintenance. “This was my own choice， as this major is what I’m really interested in，” Yang said， adding that after studying at the school he can start a new life different from that of his parents and grandparents.

　　Tsering Dolma， 28， has been teaching Tibetan embroidery at the school for six years since she graduated there. A horse embroidery she is working on is a commission order from an American client， which will be sold for 10，000 yuan ($1，653).

　　A few of the students in the embroidery class are orphans， while some come from single-parent families. Most of them stay at home doing embroidery after graduation， and companies order works from them and then sell them around Qinghai and even across the country. Their artwork will usually fetch a good price， and they will no longer have to worry about how to support themselves or their families.