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www.sherig.org SHERIG NEWS QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CENTRAL TIBETAN ADMINISTRATION Vol.17; No.1 SPRING 2013 EDITORIAL: the self and sacrificing the self for the service and (Starting from welfare of others which constitutes the principle This page plus this edition, of "altruism"; enabling in students the ability to Administrative News ---------2 Sherig News will preserve Tibetan culture and natural environment Academic News---------------2 feature an Edito- constitutes the principle of "upholding the heri- tage"; and finally the principle of "innovation" Counseling News ------------4 rial Column) stresses that students should be able to introduce Publication News--------------4 Perhaps the most new principles, systems, movements and so forth common myth Education Council News----4 in accordance with the needs of time and place. Scholarship News-------------4 pervading our society on the Besides these four aims of providing education, Basic Education BEP endorses: student-centered teaching meth- About us… Policy (BEP) of odology, abolishment of 3 hour examination sys- tem, inculcation of higher order thinking skills, Sherig News is the official CTA is that BEP newsletter of the Depart- is all about ver- Inclusive Education, teaching of traditional sub- ment of Education, one of nacularization of jects (such as Valid Cognition) and so forth. the seven departments of the the medium of In short BEP envisages a 'paradigm shift' in our Central Tibetan Administra- instruction. Whenever and wherever there is a tion based in Dharamsala education that would not only address the exist- since 1960. DoE is the apex discussion on BEP, the debate on vernaculariza- ing issues plaguing our society (such as lack of body responsible for provid- tion of medium of instruction invariably takes professionals, unemployment problem and cul- ing support for the educa- the center stage. tural uprooting of youngsters), but also meet the tional and welfare needs of ultimate needs of Tibetan people. over 22,000 Tibetan refugee There is definitely a clause in the BEP docu- children in India and Nepal. ment which underscored the need for full con- Going back to the debate on legitimacy of moth- version of medium of instruction to Tibetan in er-tongue based education, people assume that For suggestions & com- our schools. However, we must understand that ments, do contact us at: below-par competency in English Language will neither is BEP just about this clause nor is this be an obvious side effect of the switch in medi- Department of Education clause the most important aspect of BEP. um of instruction to Tibetan, and introduction of Central Tibetan second language only after III grade as per BEP. Administration While people may debate on the legitimacy of Gangchen Kyishong mother-tongue based classroom instruction (al- What appears to be logical is not always right, Dharamsala 176215 though scientific research in this field has proven and common sense can be tyrannical at times. District Kangra beyond any ambiguity that mother-tongue based Retrospectively, for about 40 years since the first Himachal Pradesh. INDIA classroom instruction leads to better conceptual Email: [email protected] Tibetan school was established in India, all the Tel: (01892) 222572, 222721 understanding, and developing a strong foun- Tibetan schools followed a system wherein me- Fax: (01892) 223481 dation of mother-tongue language in children, dium of instruction was English right from I to rather than impeding, actually helps in acqui- XII grade. Going by the (commonsensical yet un- Advisor: Dr. Lobsang Sangay sition of second language later in school), tak- scientific) logic behind the argument that switch- (Kalon for Education) ing one's impressionistic reservations about this ing the medium of instruction to Tibetan will ad- Ngodup Tsering vernacularization aspect of BEP as the sole ba- versely affect English Language proficiency, the (Education Secretary) sis for discrediting the policy as a whole grossly students who graduated from the Tibetan schools Editor overlooks the significance of the key features of under the previous system must be reaaally good Gyaltsen BEP- most of which have universal appeal. in English! Are they? If majority of the readers (Science Education Officer) The essence of BEP lies in the four aims of giv- objectively respond to this question in affirma- Joint Editor tive, my argument would stop here. However, if Kalsang Wangdu ing education viz., enabling to fully awaken (Education Officer Humani- the students' discriminative faculty of mind to the general response to this question is negative, ties) be able to distinguish right from wrong which I won't hesitate to voice my argument that 'just Mailing Coordinator constitutes the principle of "freedom"; students as following an English Medium System doesn't Tsering Yangkyi embracing other beings as more precious than guarantee good English Language proficiency in SHERIG NEWS VOL. 17 No. 1 SPRING 2013 1 DEPARMENTAL BRIEFS children, switching the medium of instruction to Tibetan will Administration and other institutes in Dharamshala were also not necessarily hamper the standard of English in schools'. invited for the event. On January 27, Shri Apurva Chandra For me this question of language proficiency (be it in Tibetan and his family, along with Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay or English) has less to do with medium of instruction and watched India vs England cricket match at Himachal Pradesh more to do with the quality of language pedagogy. Emphasis Cricket Stadium, Dharamshala. on 'Comprehensive Language Inputs' such as creative writ- ing, speaking, developing reading habit and so forth which ACADEMIC NEWS are absolutely crucial for developing language skills have been seriously lacking in most of our schools. How then can Workshop on Safety and Security we expect our children to possess good proficiency in lan- From January 8 to 14, the DoE organized Safety and Security guages? Workshop at College for Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarah. The Conclusion: training was attended by 5 rectors, 4 staff nurses, and 7 war- dens/matrons of CST schools. The seven-day workshop cov- Thus, there is a need to move beyond the current debate on ered topics related to safety and security of students including instructional medium and understand BEP in terms of its core Corporal Punishment and Ethical Disciplining, Contagious essences and underlying philosophies. Diseases, Women's Reproductive Health, Identification of - Gyaltsen Drug Addiction and Preventive Measures, Conflict Resolu- tion, Inclusive Education, Prevention of Bullying in School, Disaster Management, and Holistic Education. Besides, a ADMINISTRATIVE NEWS: thorough discussion amongst the participants on means to Mr. Topgyal Tsering Apppointed the (Administrative) improve the overall discipline and health of children in CST Secretary of DoE schools was held during the workshop. The workshop was funded by Central Tibetan Schools Administration. Mr. Topgyal Tsering, formerly the Additional Secretary of the De- partment of Education has been Cultural and Spiritual Teachers' Workshop promoted to the post of Secretary by the Public Service Commission The DoE organized a five-day workshop for the Cultural and of the Central Tibetan Adminis- Spiritual Teachers of the Tibetan schools in north-eastern and tration. The Kashag has formally southern parts of India. 18 Cultural and Spiritual Teachers sanctioned one additional post of participated in the workshop. The primary aim of organiz- Secretary for the Department of ing the workshop was to brief the participants on the upcom- Education to look after the overall ing Symposium on Dialectics in which Tibetan schools from administrative related issues; Mr. Topgyal Tsering has been north-eastern and southern parts of India will participate. appointed for the same with effect from February 8, 2013. Ex Kalon Tripa, Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche, Geshe Jamphel Dakpa, Principal of College for Higher Tibetan Studies (CHTS), Sarah, Mr. Dorji Gyaltsen, Teacher of CHTS, Ms. CTSA Chairman Apurva Chandra Visits Dharamshala Donkar Wangmo Chief Counselor DoE, Mr Nyima Tsering, Science Teacher, TCV Suja, and Mr. Tenzin Ngodup, Science Teacher, TCV Upper were invited as resource persons for the workshop. The resource persons covered topics such as Teaching of Buddhism, The Importance of Teaching Dialec- tics in School, Ill Effects of Corporal Punishment, Child Psy- chology, Teaching Science through Dialectics and so forth. The workshop was funded by Gaden Phodrang Trust. Shri. Apurva Chandra and his Family with Sikyong and Artists of TIPA Follow-up Workshop on Research Methodologies On Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay's invitation, CTSA Chair- On March 4 & 5, a follow-up workshop for the recipients of man Shri Apurva Chandra accompanied by his wife and son the DoE's Non-formal Research Scholarship was organized visited Dharamshala on January 26 & 27, 2013. A cultural at College for Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarah. The workshop performance followed by dinner in honor of the visiting guest was organized as a follow-up program to the previously was organized at Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA) conducted training at Central University of Tibetan Stud- in the evening of January 26. Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay, ies, Varanasi on Research Methodologies. A total of 14 non- in his address thanked Mr. Apurva Chandra for the whole- formal research scholars attended the workshop. During the hearted support the latter extended