Problem: By our estimates, 40% of school age children in rural Tibet do not attend school.
Many factors exacerbate this problem. Farmers and nomads, who make up the majority
of Tibetans, generally cannot afford to pay school fees. In many regions, schools
are insufficiently staffed while available teachers often have scarcely more education
than their students. Additionally, farmers often depend on their children to work
as farm hands because agriculture in Tibet is still only partially mechanized.
Tibetans simply have little incentive to invest in education when their children
can look forward to little more than access to primary school and limited job
prospects thereafter. As a result, Tibetans are caught in a vicious cycle that
leaves them with few opportunities for educational and economic advancement.
Progress: As of now, TVP assisted in building one school in 2003 that
now has 95 students. Since then, TVP has shifted its focus towards supporting
schools that are already built but are having difficulty staying in operation
due to a lack of funding and materials.
Ongoing
Effort: TVP's rural educational program focuses on Tibetan language preservation
and literacy. TVP annually provides support to about 10 school through stipends, tuition, food, warm blankets and clothing, textbooks,
and school supplies. Click here to learn ways to help. Click here to learn about our latest greenhouse project that is designed to combat the malnutrition problem among Tibetan children.
