Education in Rural Tibet: Development, Problems and Adaptations

Education is a strategic component for accelerating Tibet's development. Yet attendance rates still lag behind the rest of China. Data gathered in villages of two counties is used to examine how home, school and community factors affect school participation. It is argued that despite the abolition of school fees and the provision of boarding schools in China for graduates of primary schools in Tibet, the dropout rates in rural Tibet remain high largely due to the need for household labour, the low quality of education provided and the inability of schools to provide villagers with competitive jobs after graduation.