DHARAMSHALA: The fourth Education Council and Advisory Committee meeting began this morning at the Kashag secretariat hall. The education council and advisory committee is the chief decision-maker in the education system of the Tibetan schools in exile.

Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay inaugurated the meeting, which was attended by Geshe Lhakdor, Director of Library of Tibetan Works and Archives and the new Chairman of the council, along with Dr Ngawang Rabgyal, Secretary of the Education Department.

In his inaugural address, Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay emphasised the importance placed on education by the Kashag and expressed wholehearted cooperation and assistance of the Kashag towards the council to advance Tibetan education. He also recounted an advice His Holiness the Dalai Lama has made to the Tibetan public in the past. “When it comes to dialogue with the Chinese or garnering worldwide support for the Tibet issue, we are dependent on the other party’s response. But regarding the education of the Tibetan people, it is something that we can and have to do it ourselves. Therefore, if we fail in education, it is solely our responsibility,” Sikyong said.

Geshe Lhakdor, the new Chairman of the Education Council and Advisory Committee, in his address called for the need to inculcate moral values like warmheartedness and compassion in the education system. He lauded the hard work being put in by Tibetan teachers and school authorities, yet at the same time, urged them to do more to create a conducive learning environment.

The agenda for the two-day meeting include reviewing the resolutions passed in the last meeting, discussion on the assessment report of Basic Education Policy, inculcating secular ethics in school syllabus, advancement of Tibetan language in Tibetan schools, implementation of English as a second language, and other issues as deemed necessary by the chairman.

The education council and advisory committee is composed of the director of Education Council, traditional and modern academic section head of Department of Education, director of Sambhota schools, education director of TCV and former principals of CST Mundgod Ms Tharlam Dolma, education officer of Tibetan Homes School, education officer of Snow lion foundation  and Nepal Gangchen Schools.