Wu, Mei Faculty of Education The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong The Development of Higher Education in the TAR: From UNESCO’s Perspective Wu, Mei Faculty of Education The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Tibet is a highly controversial area in the present world An unbiased perspective is needed for the analysis of the higher education in the TAR. A top selection : Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century: vision and Action. (UNESCO)

Overview Introduction Access to higher education Quantity and quality Subjects and language Conclusion

Introduction 50th anniversary of the higher education in the TAR. ＊In 1958, Tibetan Public School (Xizang gongxue) founded. A complete tertiary education system covering doctorate and master's degrees, bachelor degree and diploma of all higher education level.

By 2006, six modern universities and colleges had been established in Tibet. ★ Tibet Institute for Nationalities (TIN, 1965) ★ Tibet University (TU,1985） ★ Traditional Tibetan Medicine College (TTMC,1993） ★ Tibet Police College (TPC, 2003） ★ Tibet Technical College ( TTC, 2005） ★ Tibet Teacher’s College (TTC，2006). More than 20,000 students including a group of Tibetan doctors and masters, graduated from the universities and colleges. 26,767 college students at present

Access to higher education No discrimination can be accepted in granting access to higher education on grounds of race, gender, language or religion, or economic, cultural or social distinctions, or physical disabilities (UNESCO, 1998) .

The National Unified Higher Education Enrollment system(1978) China's annual National College Entrance Examination, (NCEE) Preferential policy (1980) 1) Minority nationality classes. 2) Their own entrance examinations. 3) The university examination in their native language. 4) The lower pass mark. 5) Priority in admission

The proportion of Tibetans and other non-Han Chinese nationalities in tertiary enrollment 48.6 % (1984) 57.8 % (1993) 72.7% (2008)

Table 1: Average Number of University Students per 100,000 (2005) Area Number TAR 1139 Qinghai 905 Yunnan 904 Guizhou 838 Guangxi 993 Henan 1119 Hainan 1133 Anhui 1110 National average 1613

Preferential polices The central government’s enormous investment in finance and human resources A great leap forward since 1958 From nil to a talents’ pool and research foundation of Tibet

Quantity and quality Higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit . (UNESCO, 1998)

The number of college students attained 26,767 Quantity In 2007 The number of college students attained 26,767 17.4% gross enrollment rate (Council of PRC, 2008).

Numbers of Enrollment and Total Students from 1965 to 2007 (Council of PRC, 2006-2008) The number of students enrolled in college in different years 910 772 233 530 645 683 1193 1095 1175 717 1681 2320 2420 3414 4279 6009 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 1965 1975 1980 1985 1990 1992 1993 1994 1995 1997 1999 2001 2002 2003 2004 Year Number The number of students enrolled in college

The number of college students in different years 1964 1494 1577 2025 2239 2813 3280 3878 3200 3400 4021 5475 6793 8438 11600 14731 23327 26767 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 1975 1980 1985 1990 1992 1993 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 Year Number The number of college students)

Vocational Institution Table2: the Comparison of Admission Scores between the TAR and Other Regions in 2008 Regions Type Tibet Qinghai Gansu Hebei Henan Guizhou Minority Han A R T S Key Institution 350 500 470 490 560 537 557 566 Common Institution 270 360 405 425 501 503 513 Vocational Institution 230 320 312 322 C I E N 290 418 438 558 552 563 521 220 365 368 388 507 514 517 468 200 300 262 272

Table 3: Admission Scores in the TAR (2000 to 2007) Year Level Arts Science Minority Han Gap Minority Han Gap 2000 Key Institution Common Institution Vocational Institution 300 390 90 215 290 75 210 320 110 200 270 70 2001 340 440 100 283 350 67 255 325 70 305 450 145 235 340 105 2002 335 450 115 273 340 67 255 320 65 2003 330 450 120 250 320 70 220 300 80 280 440 160 210 325 115 180 255 75 2004 350 490 140 300 480 180 2005 350 490 140 250 320 70 220 300 80 2006 355 495 140 267 352 85 235 320 85 300 505 205 225 370 145 200 300 100 2007 365 515 150 280 370 90 240 330 90 303 515 212

Students encountered many difficulties in learning Teachers have to face more challenges Some graduates have not reached the standards the subject requires The reform of employment system of graduates in 2006 Minority graduates have to rely on the special preferential policy to find jobs

the same ability and employment competitiveness. The realization of the equity of entrance is at the expense of the equality of consequence: the same ability and employment competitiveness.

Subjects and languages The policy debate on the role of higher education in a changing world has to be based on a judicious balance between the preservation of those features which should remain as part of the educational and cultural heritage and the changes which are essential to preserve the role society accords to higher education. (Policy Paper for Change and Development in Higher Education . UNESCO, 1995)

Three stages in the past 50 years Stage 1: Training the Tibetan politics cadres and the professional cadres (1958-1976) Tibetan and Chinese literacy courses 23 programs, covering medical science, teacher’s education, accounting, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and so on.

Traditional Tibetan Medicine College (1993) Stage 2: Serving the development of Tibetan economy and preserving the traditional Tibetan culture (1980-1998) Tibet University (1985) Tibetan Language, Chinese Language, Mathematics, Physics, Tibetan medicine and others Traditional Tibetan Medicine College (1993) Traditional Tibetan medicine and pharmacy

Stage 3: Emphasizing the comprehensive, minority and vocational subjects (1999- ) New subjects (especially vocational ones), including computer science and technology, marketing, hospitality and tourism, management, Tibetan-Chinese-English translation, arts and crafts, and others. A group of subjects with the “minority” title: "minority history", "minority language", "minority art", and "minority religion". More than 70 undergraduate programs and 60 higher vocational education programs.

Teaching language Tibetan language used as teaching language in: Tibetan literature, Tibetan language and Tibetan medicine. Except these subjects, Chinese used as instruction language in other curricula.

Language teaching Clear requirements for Tibetan language learning. For instance: Tibetan language is a compulsory course for every student in TU and TIN Some electives : Tibetan writing, Tibetan-Chinese translation and Tibetan spoken language.

Tibetan language cannot be used as teaching language in campus at present Lack of accurate translation vocabulary of modern science and technology, as well as the social science terminology The three major Tibetan dialects can not be well understood by one another Chinese used as the teaching language for a long time would certainly weaken the Tibetan culture in some extent.

Special policies The history of the development of subjects and languages reflects two main goals of higher education in the TAR: Training professionals for social development of the TAR Preserving the Tibetan traditional culture

Conclusion The educational philosophy and policy of the Chinese government are in line with the UNESCO’s in many aspects. As a result of the TAR political sensitivity, many education issues are converted to political ones. The policies and practices with good intention distorted in the reality. The bureaucracy in the Chinese education system Pay more attention on the Preferential policies than the Special policies

What the Tibetans have to face is "modernization" rather than "Hanization" . Higher education should play a vital role in Tibetan modernization and transformation.

Thanks! wumei@hkucc.hku.hk