The government’s proposal to hand over Tibetan schools funded and run by the HRD ministry to the Tibetan government-in-exile may be delayed further. Though the proposal was first mooted over two years ago, it has been delayed as the HRD ministry and ministry of external affairs are still understood to be holding discussion on the issue.
Sources stated that the HRD ministry needs to seek Cabinet clearance for the proposal but has been unable to secure it as a Cabinet note is yet to be finalised. The MEA had in 2010 recommended the transfer of these schools to the Tibetan government-in-exile, also known as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), Dharamsala.
The HRD ministry will now need to seek the clearance of the Union council of ministers to effect a phase-wise transfer of 71 schools under the Central Tibetan Schools Administration to the CTA. Sources in the ministry stated that the Cabinet note on the issue is likely to be prepared soon. These schools are located in the states of Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Orissa, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. These are the states where the population of Tibetan refugees has been settled after they arrived in India. These schools have an estimated population of approximately 8,000 students.
However, even after these schools are transferred to the Tibetan government-in-exile they will remain affiliated to the CBSE. Ever since the proposal to transfer these schools to the Tibetan government-in-exile was mooted the HRD ministry has also received several representations from teachers and employees union of these schools for protection of their members rights. “The teachers and employees of these schools have been assured that their interests will be protected while finalising the proposal,” sources added.