DHARAMSHALA: The Department of Education, Central Tibetan Administration organised a press conference today to announce 158 vacancies at eight Tibetan schools (details below) following the third phase of transfer of schools from Central Tibetan Schools Administration (CTSA) to Sambhota Tibetan Schools Administration (STSS).

President of Central Tibetan Administration Dr Lobsang Sangay along with Education Secretary Karma Singhe and Namgyal Yemphel, Director of Sambhota Tibetan Schools Society chaired the press conference.

Addressing the press conference, President Dr Lobsang Sangay spoke about the emphasis placed on education by the Kashag and the transfer of CTSA schools to Sambhota as one of the most important projects of the education department.

“For over thirty years, successive Kashags of the Central Tibetan Administration have urged the Indian government to transfer the administration of the Tibetan schools under CTSA to Sambhota Tibetan Schools Society (STSS) which is administered by the education department. The efforts finally bore fruit in 2013 when the Indian government consented to the Tibetan requests and decided to transfer the administration of the CTSA schools,” President Dr Sangay said.

“It was initially specified that the transfer would be implemented and completed within three years. However, due to several unforeseen constraints such as change in the personnel of the HRD ministry, it took longer than expected,” he explained.

Although a small administration under the HRD ministry, the Central Tibetan Schools Administration (CTSA) is a significant component of the HRD ministry, as it falls under the same administration that overseas the Kendriya Vidyalaya and Navodaya Vidyalaya schools in India. Together, it looks after more than a million students and 2-3 lakh teachers and staff.

Since 2013, this is the third phase of the transfer. The first phase of the transfer took place in 2014 and the second in 2016. The final phase of the transfer is yet to come with six Tibetan schools still remaining under CTSA.

“The third phase of the transfer is significant as it marks the complete transfer of all the schools in the settlements that has class 10 and 12,” Dr Sangay remarked.

However, he also noted that with the transfer of these schools, there is also a large vacancy for teachers opening up in these schools. “Therefore, I call on those with qualification and experience to apply for these posts,” he said.

“In our requests to the Indian government, we have repeatedly informed the authorities of the comparatively superior performance of the students by the schools administered entirely by Tibetans as opposed to those administered by the CTSA.” he said.

“To maintain this superior performance, we need qualified and competent teachers who will serve the Tibetan schools and advance Tibetan education,” he noted.

President Dr Sangay also expressed his gratitude to HRD minister Shri Prakash Javadekar, Secretary Shri Anil Swarup and Joint Secretary and Chairman of CTSA Shri Sanjay Kumar, and other officials of the Ministry of Human Resource Development for their consistent assistance and support towards the project. He further highlighted the service of the Indian teachers and staff who have contributed significantly to the advancement of Tibetan education.

“With the completion of the school transfer project, a new beginning will dawn on Tibetan education that will realise the goals of academic excellence and the advancement of Tibetan education as envisioned by the Kashag,” he concluded.

Responding to questions from reporters about consolidation of Tibetan schools due to decreasing number of students in some schools, Dr Sangay said that this is a matter that is currently being deliberated by the education department.

“Decreasing number of students in some schools is a reality. As a result, maintaining large schools with few students is both expensive and illogical. Therefore, the education department is currently discussing ways to resolve this problem,” he explained.

Education Secretary Karma Singhe read out a press release issued by the department.