A new edict reducing the weight of Tibetan language scores on entrance exams for students in Tibetan areas of China has made it more difficult for them to gain admission to top tier secondary schools where they can pursue formal study of their native tongue, according to sources.

According to a notice issued last week by the Ministry of Education in the Malho, Tsolho and Yulshul Tibetan areas of Qinghai province—a copy of which was recently obtained by RFA’s Tibetan Service—Tibetan language scores on the 2021 New School Admission Entrance Exam will now be weighed equally to those for Chinese and English.

In prior years, Tibetan language scores were weighed the most heavily among all other subjects in grading the exam and placing students in middle and high schools, sources told RFA.

Tibetan students often seek placement in national-level secondary schools that offer studies in Tibetan as well as Chinese and other languages, but the bar to acceptance in these institutions will now be more difficult because in the change of exam scoring, said a Tibetan from Qinghai, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

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