By Phuntsok Yangchen
DHARAMSHALA, January 9: Hundreds of Tibetan students and their parents have gathered outside the government office premises in Luchu County in Kanlho Tibet Autonomous Prefecture to protest against an alleged malpractice in an entrance exam that would secure them government jobs, sources said.
According to sources, some Chinese officials took money in exchange of question papers and swapped names of higher scoring students with that of poorer graded students for an estimated sum of 2,00,000 Yuan (U.S. $32,188).
Tibetan students of the Luchu Middle School also discovered that the Chinese officials had registered some students from outside the region in their regional students’ list for the exams that were held last October.
The student protesters believe that this will negatively impact the benefits or opportunities otherwise meant for the local students.
The scale of the protest has intensified with more students and parents joining the protest since it began on Dec. 28.
The protesters, according to RFA, met with senior county officials but failed to reach any settlement.
On Wednesday, hundreds of students and parents visited the County office and staged a demonstration demanding justice and equality.
The protesters who tried to approach the County Governor with their plea could not be heard as the offices remained shut the entire day. However, they vowed to bring the matter to the higher authorities if not addressed by the County administration.
The Luchu Middle School was founded in 1982.
