Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], October 18 (ANI): The Prairie Talent Girls’ School, a prominent Tibetan educational institution founded to empower girls from nomadic communities, was permanently closed on August 27, 2026, raising fresh concerns over China’s policies towards Tibetan education, language and cultural identity, as reported by Phayul.
According to Phayul, also known as the Grassland Girls’ School and Snowland Grassland Girls’ School, the institution was established in 2005 by renowned Tibetan monk and educator Venerable Ragya Jigme Gyaltsen.
Located near sacred Ragya Mountain in Golog, in the traditional Tibetan region of Amdo in Qinghai, the school sought to expand educational opportunities for girls from pastoral families. The school initially admitted 40 girls annually, with enrolment reportedly reaching 240 within six years. Its first graduating batch completed studies in 2010, with students securing leading positions in primary school examinations across Golog.
The institution offered a blend of modern education and traditional Tibetan learning, including Tibetan language, Buddhism, science, Tibetan medicine, traditional arts, crafts, thangka painting and computer studies. Students from U-Tsang, Kham and Amdo attended the school, which became an important centre for preserving Tibetan cultural heritage.
Authorities later took over the school and renamed it Ragya Town Girls’ Middle School under a “privately run, publicly funded” arrangement. Online footage reportedly showed distressed students crying, while textbooks and teaching materials lay scattered inside the premises.
Former students also shared photographs and memories, mourning the loss of an institution that shaped their education and personal development. The closure came shortly before the school’s 21st founding anniversary on October 15, turning what would have been a celebration into a moment of grief for its alumni, as highlighted by Phayul.
The development follows the closure of another institution established by Ragya Jigme Gyaltsen, the award-winning Jigme Gyaltsen Nationalities Vocational School, which shut down on July 12, 2024, after nearly three decades, as reported by Phayul. (ANI)
China shuts down Tibetan girls’ school, deepening concerns over cultural erasure
