Dharamshala — Ragya Gangjonq Sherig Norbuling School, forcibly shut down by the Chinese authorities in 2024. However, it has announced its reopening only for vocational courses, excluding Tibetan language, English, computer science, engineering, medicine, videography and physical education as before.
On April 15, 2025, Ragya Jigmey Gyaltsen, founder of the Ragya Gangjonq Sherig Norbuling School, gathered Tibetans near their school and made a public announcement that they had obtained permission from the Chinese authorities to reopen the Ragya Sherig Norbuling School, after many hardships.
Ven Jigmey Gyaltsen addressed the assembly and said: “We have received all the necessary documents and permissions, that we can reopen our school very soon. That's why, for our part, we are first going to teach everyone how to use cell phones. We can not open the school just now, but when it does, I hope everyone will focus more on developing technical skills to keep up with the times. Thank you."
Ragya Gangjong Sherig Norbuling School, registered as the Jigme Gyaltsen Vocational School and it was founded in August 1994 by Tibetan scholar Ven Jigme Gyaltsen, with the approval of the Chinese government. It is the first privately funded welfare school in Qinghai province, Tibet. The school was built by the scholar with the help of a few student monks and local Tibetans. The sponsors were local Tibetans, wealthy Tibetans, Tibetans and other generous people from inside and outside Tibet.
The school was the most popular for Tibetan students, who wishes to study the Tibetan language, tradition, culture, religion, and medicine. It was a great success until, in recent years, the Chinese authorities implemented strict policies towards private schools, and Tibetan schools in particular. After years of struggle to save the school from closure, the founder and director of the school, Ven Jigme Gyaltsen, was forced to announce the school's closure in June 8, 2024, in accordance with so-called “the policies of the Chinese Communist Party”.
The Gangjong Sherig Norbuling school held a closing event for students and teachers on July 12, 2024. The teachers and students cried so hard that they could not control their sadness at the closure of their beloved school after 30 years.
The Gangjong Sherig Norbuling was a boarding school that accepts many students of different backgrounds and ethnicities; there were few Chinese, Mongolians, and most of them are Tibetan monks and students. The curriculum includes Tibetan language, Buddhism, science, Chinese, English, mathematics, algebra, physics, chemistry, computer science, physical education, art, music and work. Courses in the 'traditional culture' category include logic, grammar, poetry, introduction to Tibetan studies, astronomy and the calendar, phonology, medicine and handicrafts.
In 30 years, the school has graduated 2,259 students, including 742 university students, 40 bachelors, 3 doctors, 242 teachers, 13 directors, 102 civil servants, 108 monastery managers, 83 doctors, 8 village chiefs and 254 private entrepreneurs.
