China's assimilation drive targets Tibetan educator, shuts down cultural institution

Dharamshala [India], December 10 (ANI): Chinese authorities have detained Chogtrul Dorje Tenzin, a highly respected Tibetan educationist and head of Minthang Monastery, Osel Thegchog Ling and the Minthang Ethnic Vocational School in Golog, on December 4. The report stated that his current location remains unknown, and officials have not provided any explanation regarding his arrest, as reported by Phayul.
According to Phayul, it remains uncertain whether regular police, secret police, or state security officers carried out the detention. Chogtrul Dorje Tenzin's growing influence as both a Buddhist teacher and a cultural educator has long drawn the attention of Chinese authorities, who are increasingly intolerant of independent Tibetan educational initiatives.
The Minthang Ethnic Vocational School, established in 2007 with approval from the Golog Prefecture People's Government, was one of the few institutions in the region offering comprehensive Tibetan-language education alongside vocational training.
Construction was completed in 2010, and classes officially began in August that year with over a hundred students. The school's curriculum balanced national-level subjects such as Chinese, English, and mathematics with traditional disciplines, including Tibetan language, medicine, tailoring, thangka painting, and cultural performance arts.
The institution earned widespread respect between 2015 and 2018 for nurturing Tibetan youth while preserving their linguistic and cultural identity. Following his detention, Chinese officials ordered the immediate closure of both the school and its training centre, sending students home. Authorities have allegedly been coercing students to transfer to state-run boarding schools, consistent with China's broader assimilation drive that seeks to replace local cultural education with a uniform, Mandarin-based curriculum, as highlighted by Phayul.
Critics argue this policy represents an ongoing attempt to erode Tibet's distinct heritage and religious traditions. Born in 1967 in Minthang, Chogtrul Dorje Tenzin was a disciple of several prominent Buddhist masters, including His Holiness the 7th Choje Dhampa Yeshin Norbu.
He received the title of Khenpo (Doctor of Buddhist Studies) from the Larung Gar Five Sciences Buddhist Academy in Sertar, where he specialised in the canonical Buddhist teachings, as reported by Phayul. (ANI)