DHARAMSHALA, November 22: The Tibetan Children’s Village, one of the largest residential schools for Tibetans in India on Tuesday witnessed a very unusual sight that involved over a hundred class ten students sitting outside the principal’s office with placards and banners demanding rejection of a resignation letter by their maths teacher.
The students were demanding that the principal should reject the resignation of Lobsang Tenzin, their maths teacher who reportedly beat up a student named Tenzin Tsetan. According to sources, the teacher had seen a tatoo on Tenzin’s arm which he asked to hide. Tenzin did cover the tatoo but reportedly expressed his dissatisfaction with a rebellious look on his face. Lobsang allegedly reacted by slapping the student and kicking him, sources said. Minutes later, Tenzin appeared with a brick in his hand heading towards the senior section staff room where he openly threatened to avenge his humiliation. The teachers present there subdued Tenzin and took away the brick. Tenzin then informed the school principal who decided to punish the teacher with a deduction of a month’s salary as per the TCV school administrative guidelines and policy.
The teacher submitted his resignation immediately. The students then walked to the principal’s office where they staged a dharna demanding that the school should “change the system”, an apparent indication to the TCV school’s policy of not beating children.
According to students and teachers of the school, Tenzin Tseten had several disciplinary issues in the past and the school had already given him opportunities twice.
While some people appreciate the TCV’s ‘no beating the students’ policy, others think it gives students a boost to be disrespectful with teachers and break rules and leads to juvenile delinquency.
“Although I see the rule of not beating up students as a sign of progress to deal with students in a more civilized manner, making a strict rule upon it and declaring it to the teachers in the presence of students is very demeaning and unhealthy that corrupts student’s mind and feed their ego that a teacher can’t do a thing,” said Tsering Choedon, a Tibetan law graduate working here.
Dawa Tsering, a former teacher in a Tibetan school said, “We are in 21st century, it is very different from traditional Tibet where we have culture of punishing culprits by flogging in public. Now we can not do that, we have no right to beat a student at any cost. So beating the student will not solve the entire problem and it should be abolished.”
When contacted the Department of Education for their comment on the incident, Tsering Phuntsok, Education Officer of the DOE said that he was not aware of the incident. “It is an internal matter and such incidents can happen in any organizations and the organization itself must try to solve it according to their rules and regulations,” said Phuntsok.
“So far the school has not approached us, but if they do, then we will look into the matter.”
The school management feels that Tseten should spend the rest of the session with his parents, and let him finish his board exams next March and then a decision will be reached upon.
Headquartered here in the Northern Indian town of Dharamshala, TCV is the largest residential school of the exiled Tibetan community and also one of the largest of its kind in India.
With established branches in India extending from Ladakh in the North to Bylakuppe in the South, TCV has over 15,000 children under its care.
