Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, Dec. 8: Chogtrul Dorje Tenzin, a highly respected Tibetan educationist and head of Minthang Monastery Osel Thegchog Ling and the Minthang Ethnic Vocational School in Golog, has been detained by Chinese authorities on December 4, according to an independent shortwave radios news service Voice of Tibet (VoT).
Chogtrul Dorje Tenzin was likely arrested by Chinese authorities, although it remains unclear whether the police, secret police, or state security agents carried out the detention. No official explanation has been provided, and his current whereabouts are unknown.
Chogtrul Dorje Tenzin’s Minthang Vocational and Technical School has, for years, been one of the few institutions in Golog Prefecture offering comprehensive Tibetan-language education alongside practical vocational training. His growing reputation as a religious teacher and educator, coupled with his strong commitment to preserving Tibetan culture, appears to have made him a target.
Authorities had long viewed the school with suspicion, disapproving of its strong emphasis on Tibetan cultural education at a time when Beijing is aggressively pushing assimilationist policies and tighter state control over schooling in Tibet.
Following his detention, students at the Minthang Vocational School were immediately sent home, forcing the temporary closure of both the school and its training centre. Chinese authorities have reportedly been pressuring students to transfer to government-run institutions, in line with ongoing policies requiring Tibetan children to attend state-administered boarding schools.
Minthang Ethnic Vocational School was established with the approval of the Golog Prefecture People’s Government in 2007 through Document No. 160 and began construction with official backing from the prefectural government and education department. The project was completed in 2010, and formal teaching began on August 18 that year, with more than a hundred students enrolled in the inaugural cohort.
The curriculum blended standard academic foundations with specialized training. Foundational courses included Tibetan language, Chinese language, mathematics, English, calligraphy, politics, and physical education, using national-level junior and senior high school textbooks. Specialized vocational training covered linguistics, Tibetan medicine, tailoring, thangka painting, song and dance, and tourism guiding. Between 2015 and 2018, the school gained recognition as an important regional educational hub.
Chogtrul Dorje Tenzin was born in 1967 in Minthang. He studied Buddhist philosophy and practice under many respected teachers, including His Holiness the 7th Choje Dhampa Yeshin Norbu. He later earned the title of Khenpo (doctor of Buddhist studies) from the Larung Gar Five Sciences Buddhist Academy in Sertar, where he specialized in the three baskets of teachings.
