Dharamshala, 24 June 2024: Passang Tsering, Principal of the College for Higher Tibetan Studies, was unanimously elected as a member of the Public Service Commission (PSC) today during the 154th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile.
As per clause (1) of Article (101) as enshrined in the Charter of Tibetans in Exile, ‘With requisite of a Chairperson and 2 to 4 members for Public Service Commission, whenever there is a vacancy for the said designation, Chief Justice Commissioner, Speaker & Deputy Speaker, and Sikyong are to set up a three-membered ad-hoc Nomination Committee, for the purpose of drawing up a list of candidates numbering at least twice the number of posts to be filled. Thereby with an election in the Tibetan Parliament, the candidate with majority votes is elected as either Chairperson or Committee member(s) of Public Service Commission, whichever the case may be,’ and clause (2) of the same aforementioned article in the Charter of Tibetans in exile that states, ‘If the election of either Chairperson or members of Public Service Commission is demanded in the absence of Parliamentary house in session, candidates as per submitted by the aforementioned ad hoc Nomination Committee will be voted upon by the members of Standing Committee. The candidate with two-third majority votes from the total number of members of Standing Committee will, thereby, be announced either Chairperson or Committee member(s) of Public Service Commission, whichever the case may be,‘ the ad hoc Nomination Committee submitted the list of candidates, viz., Passang Tsering, Principal of College for Higher Tibetan Studies (Sarah) and Ven. Thupten Yarphel, Principal of Namgyal School.
Passang Tsering arrived in India at the age of 10 in 1982. He was enrolled at Upper Tibetan Children’s Village (UTCV) in Dharamshala, where he distinguished himself as school captain in 1992 and captain of the boys’ hostel in 1993. The following year, he pursued higher education at Spicer Memorial College in Pune, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree with Geography as his major and Computer Science as his minor. Tsering was instrumental in establishing the Tibetan Students Association in Pune, serving as its coordinator and later as president. He furthered his IT studies at Skyline Computer Centre in Dharamshala.
In 1998, Tsering assumed the role of secretary at the College for Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarah. His academic achievements led to his selection for the Tibetan Scholarship Program (Fulbright Scholarship) from 2008 to 2009 in the United States, where he focused on Education Leadership and Adult and Post-Secondary Education. Upon returning to India, he served as General Secretary of the CHTS until May 2016. On June 1, 2016, he was appointed principal of the institute, a position he holds to this day.
Tsering has actively contributed to education, co-teaching Tibetan culture and civilization to visiting students from Emory University and Earlham College’s Tibetan Study Abroad program. He also spent seven weeks as a visiting resident scholar at Earlham College, teaching the same subject.
Since 2023, Passang Tsering has served as a governing body member of the Sambhota Tibetan Schools Administration in Himachal, and of the Science program for monks and nuns under the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA).
-Report filed by Tibetan Parliamentary Secretariat