Bylakuppe: The Kalon Tripa (Prime Minister) of the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile has inaugurated two newly built prayer halls at the Tibetan Secondary School, Sera Jey Monastery, Bylakuppe, south India.
Kalon Tripa Professor Samdong Rinpoche on Tuesday (August 24) told 700 assembled monks, teachers and students, "In addition to courses on social studies and science, there must be facilities for the students to study key texts of Buddhist studies.
"In Tibet, children in your age group do not get the opportunity for proper education. Even if some of the children do have access to education, they are taught only modern subjects through Chinese language as the medium of instruction and denied any opportunity to study Buddhist philosophy."
The function began with a welcome address by Khen Rinpoche Acharya Geshe Lobsang Palden, and the inauguration of a statue of Buddha and a portrait of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Sera Jey school has 40 faculty members and 630 students. It was the first monastically administered school to be recognised by the Central Tibetan Schools Administration, and participates in the CBSE class ten board examination.
The monastery is one of the three main institutes of the Gelug tradition, founded in Tibet by Lama Tsong Khapain in the 15th century. It was reestablished at Bylakuppe in South India in 1970, following the occupation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China and the subsequent destruction of monasteries and persecution of monks.
