Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV) schools in Himachal Pradesh are facing a significant decrease in enrolments from children arriving from Tibet. Once enrolling nearly a thousand Tibetan students annually, the Upper TCV School in Dharamshala, along with other TCV schools in the region, reported almost no new admissions from Tibet in 2024. Factors behind the decline include stricter Chinese border controls, low birth rates among Tibetans, and increased migration to Western countries.
According to Tsultrim Dorjee, director of the Upper TCV School, the trend has been ongoing since 2008, with border restrictions becoming more rigorous following a large protest in Tibet. “Our mission remains to preserve Tibetan culture, heritage, language, and values, despite active efforts by the Chinese government to erase them,” Dorjee remarked.
In Himachal Pradesh, there are five TCV schools: Upper and Lower TCV Schools in Dharamshala, along with institutions in Gopalpur, Chauntra, and Suja. These schools offer a limited 10% admissions quota for native Indian students, while the majority of the student body has historically been Tibetan children arriving from Tibet. However, stricter border policies and other factors have led to a gradual decline. TCV Gopalpur, which previously housed up to 1,200 children, now accommodates just over 600 students. Lower TCV Dharamshala has only 72 enrolled children.
Since their inception, TCV schools have graduated over 53,000 students. However, as new enrolments decline, school administrators are working to address these evolving challenges while remaining committed to preserving Tibetan identity and culture for future generations.
