London: On 12 March 2026, China introduced a sweeping “Ethnic Unity and Progress” law. This legislation mandates the use of Mandarin as the primary language of instruction from preschool through high school for ethnic minority groups, including Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Mongolians. The law prioritises Mandarin in education, public life, and media, alongside a revised “Standard Language Law” that further strengthens state control and promotes the sinicisation of culture.

In particular, this policy enforces mandatory Mandarin education for children from ethnic minority backgrounds from before kindergarten through to the end of high school, replacing native language instruction in many core subjects. This development poses a significant challenge to the preservation of Tibetan language and culture.

In response to this law and the need to protect and promote Tibetan heritage, the Parents Committee (2025–26) of the London School of Tibetan Language and Culture, under the guidance of the Representative Tsering Yangkyi, Office of Tibet, London, has launched a weekly inter-house reward initiative. The programme encourages students to speak Tibetan at school, and those who make a genuine effort to speak in Tibetan are awarded 5 points in the form of £5 prop money by adult members of the school.

Each morning, the parent’s committee distributes this prop money to adults, who then reward students accordingly. Students submit their earnings to their house prefect, and weekly totals are calculated by the parent’s committee. Winners are announced during the following Sunday’s morning assembly.

To further support this initiative, students are given simple topics to prepare at home and discuss in Tibetan at school, such as “My School”, “My Family”, and “My Country Tibet”. The initiative has been very well received, with students actively engaging and making sincere efforts to use Tibetan in their daily interactions at school.

Building on this success, and following further guidance from representative Tsering, the school will introduce additional measures from 1 July 2026 as follows:

1. In addition to rewards, a gentle corrective approach will be introduced when non-Tibetan languages are used, particularly by adults, to set a strong example.
2. Short video messages of His Holiness the Dalai Lama played during morning assembly will now be in Tibetan.
3. Gyalrab (Tibetan history) lessons, currently taught in English, will transition to being taught in Tibetan.
4. Parents are strongly encouraged to speak Tibetan at home and to gently insist on responses from their children in Tibetan.

With the introduction of these policies in Tibet, Tibetan language and culture face greater risk of systematic erosion. The office vows to strengthen individual efforts at home, at school, and within the Tibetan community to preserve and promote Tibetan language and cultural identity. Furthermore, the office believes, through collective commitment and action, Tibetan language and heritage continue to thrive for future generations.

-Filed by Office of Tibet London