Tibetan Students Protest Being Taught in Chinese

Human rights groups are reporting a street demonstration by thousands of Tibetan students in northwestern China to protest new rules requiring that they be educated in Chinese.The groups, including London-based Free Tibet, quote ethnic Tibetans in Qinghai province as saying students from six schools took part in the march. Estimates of the size of the crowd ranged from 1,000 to 9,000, with other sources putting it between 5,000 and 7,000.There were no accounts of violence or arrests.The reports said the protests were sparked by education reforms in Rebkong county requiring that all subjects other than language studies be taught in Chinese. The reforms also require the use of Chinese-language textbooks.Qinghai is home to a large population of ethnic Tibetans, who are concerned about the erosion of their unique language and culture. Rebkong county has three important Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and was the scene of violent anti-Chinese protests in March 2008 – Voanews