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| Indian Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal, His Holiness Dalai Lama and political leader of CTSA Dr Lobsang Sangay [Photo Credit: CTSA] |
By Vinod Shankar
Bairwa*
The Central
Tibetan Schools Administration (CTSA) is an institution born out of the vision
of two great visionaries, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and His
Holiness the Dalai Lama. CTSA not only has a transnational character but it’s
an institution that is engaged in the preservation and development of Tibetan
history and culture.
When His Holiness
the Dalai Lama alongwith his followers came to India in 1956, he showed his
deep concern for education of Tibetan children in India. The then
Prime Minister of India Shri Jawahar Lal Nehru and His Holiness the Dalai Lama
visualized the need of special schools for the Tibetan children.
In order to provide
the Tibetans children living in India with modern education, the Government of
India established Central Tibetan Schools by a Resolution of the Government of
India, Ministry of Education (Now Ministry of Human Resource Development) in
1961 and registered it under the Societies Registration Act XXXI of 1860.
The first school
was set up at Mussoorie on 3rd March 1960, with 50 students on
roll. Later on CST, Darjeeling and CST, Bylakuppe were established
in 1961. The Tibetan School Society was duly registered under the Society’s
Registration Act on 5th September’1961. Later, its
name was changed from Tibetan Schools Society to Central Tibetan Schools
Administration (CTSA).
Initially, CTSA
started three residential schools in Mussoorie, Shimla and Dalhousie and later
on strived for setting up such schools in other Tibetan settlements. In 1965,
the total number of students was 5600, amongst which 4359 were boarders and
1241 day scholars. Though these schools mainly cater to the needs of Tibetan
community, local Indian Children to the extent of 10% are also
admitted from Class VI onwards.
The success story of
the fifty years of Central Schools for Tibetans is also the success story of
India’s educational policy planning and its implementation.
The Central Schools
for Tibetans (CTS) have made a visible impact in every sense of the word. The
main objectives of the CTSA is to preserve and foster the Tibetan culture
engulfing its heritage, identity and ethnicity in the Indian soil along with facilitating and providing modern hi-tech
scientific education to the Tibetan children, to ensure and improve their
overall development and equipping them to face the challenges of the ever changing
world.
Today there are nine
Senior Secondary schools (six residential and three day schools), five
Secondary day schools and seven middle schools, seven Primary Schools and thirty
four Pre-Primary schools under CTSA.
Student strength in 1960
was 50, in 1965 - 5600; in 1980 - 9637; in 1990 - 10493; in 2000 - 10240; in
2010 - 8988 and in 2012 is 8671.
All such schools are
duly recognized and affiliated to CBSE, adhering to the syllabi, curriculum and
examination pattern of CBSE framework. The academic performance has shown near
100 percent success in class X and near 90% pass in Class
XII. This academic success also reflects the advancement of young Tibetans who
have taken to formal education with zeal. The alumni of CTSA have created a
niche for themselves in all spheres of life.
Schools are equipped
with modern facilities and devices for quality education. They possess modern
computers, video conferencing gadgets and have resource centers where
interactive classes are conducted. Each school has provision of play
field equipment, staff quarters and multipurpose halls. Students of CTSA
schools are performing excessively well in academics, co-curricular activities,
games and sports.
From the year 2000
onwards, CTSA is receiving an annual grant of Rs. 6 crores, under Plan Budget
every year for construction and repair of infrastructure i.e. classrooms
building, hostels, playfields, boundary walls, staff quarters, multipurpose
hall etc. With this budget, a substantial infrastructural
development has taken place, there are 345 staff quarters, 45 school buildings,
29 play field and 7 hostel blocks in an ongoing process to build the best
possible infrastructure in all schools under CTSA. (PIB Features)