In old Tibet, there were no schools in modern sense. In those days, the attendance rate of school-age children was less than 2 percent and the illiteracy rate was as high as 95 percent.

In 1952, the Lhasa Primary School, the first modern school in Tibet, was established. Thereafter, primary schools were set up one after another in Qamdo, Xigaze and some other places. At the end of 1958, Tibet had 13 public primary schools with more than 2,600 pupils.

Up to 1965, the number of public primary schools in Tibet rose to more than 1,800 with 66,000 students. The region also had four regular middle schools and a teachers' school, with more than 1,500 students. Tibet's first institution of higher learning, the Tibet Ethnic College, had more than 3,000 students.

In 1984, the Central Government held the Second National Conference on Work in Tibet, which focused on education in the region. It was decided at the conference that school teaching in the region should be based on the Tibetan language and teaching contents should be adapted to Tibetan economic and cultural developments. It also decided that three Tibetan middle schools and 16 Tibetan classes would be established in 19 other provinces and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

In the same year, Tibet University was founded and in September 1989, the Tibetan Medical College was established. The Education Commission of the Tibet Autonomous Region explicitly stipulates that the institutions of higher learning in Tibet must recruit Tibetan students.

Since 1985, the Central Government has established Tibetan classes (schools) in 21 other provinces and municipalities, training close to 10,000 college and polytechnic school graduates for Tibet.

In 2004, Tibet had 6,009 high school graduates who entered schools of higher learning. This brings the total number of in-school students up to 14,731. Also in the year, Tibet had 2,108 graduates. Secondary vocational schools enrolled 4,223 students, with 8,549 in-school students and 2,544 graduates; ordinary high schools enrolled 11,000 students, bringing the total number of students up to 26,700 with 6,800 graduates; ordinary middle schools enrolled 41,799 students, bringing the total number of in-school students up to 109,200, with 24,300 graduates; ordinary primary schools enrolled 59,100 students, bringing the total number of in-school students up to 327,000, with 45,200 graduates; about 94.7 percent of school-age children were in class, a figure which is 2.8 percentage points higher than the previous year. About 8,204 children were in kindergartens.

Educational Undertakings

Index	Unit	2000	2002	2003
Number of Schools	Piece	956	1016	1013
Schools of Higher Learning		4	3	4
Secondary Scools		110	114	117
Professional Schools		12	11	10
Ordinary Middle Schools		98	103	105
Primary Schools		842	899	892
Full-Time Teachers	People	19042	20036	21160
Ordinary Schools of Higher Learning		813	885	972
Secondary Schools		5048	6359	7162
Professional Schools		742	782	701
Ordinary Middle Schools		4306	5577	6461
Primary Schools		13181	12792	13026
In-School Students	People	381099	424913	453323
Ordinary Schools of Higher Learning		5475	8438	10409
Secondary Schools		61817	96906	120854
Professional Schools		6585	6437	6718
Ordinary Middle Schools		55232	90469	114136
Primary Schools		313807	319569	322060
Number of Graduates	People	51822	63638	70703
Ordinary Schools of Higher Learning		764	1686	1745
Secondary Schools		14019	18023	23263
Professional Schools		1895	2311	1973
Ordinary Middle Schools		12124	15712	21290
Primary Schools		37039	43929	45695

School Students Enrolled

Unit: Person

Year	Total	Schools of Higher Learning	Professional Secondary Schools	Ordinary Middle Schools	Primary Schools
1965		910	455	425
1975		772	1902	4109
1980	70075	233	334	8196	61312
1985	33367	530	615	6940	25282
1990	46670	645	1171	6516	38338
1992	64077	683	1303	9352	52739
1993	65148	1193	1306	9909	52740
1994	76845	1095	1531	10731	63488
1995	75084	1175	1707	12239	59963
1997	76645	717	1552	14765	59611
1999	80451	1681	1664	18167	58939
2000	88908	2320	2957	25662	57969
2001	97305	2420	2089	33823	58973
2002	104318	3414	2107	37973	60824
2003	112330	4279	2203	46935	58913

Rate of Graduates from Middle and Primary Schools Who Go to Study in Higher or Middle Schools and Rate of School-Age Children Who Go to Study in Primary Schools

Unit：%

Year	Middle School Graduates Going to Study in Higher Schools	Primary School Graduates Going to Study in Middle Schools	School-Age Children Going to Study in Primary Schools
1981		29.6	76.0
1982	38.1	41.1	78.0
1983	39.2	49.7	42.1
1984	36.0	44.0	46.4
1985	49.4	44.9	46.0
1986	44.4	47.9	50.0
1987	48.8	53.2	48.4
1988	41.3	39.6	55.7
1989	40.7	73.6	53.1
1990	36.2	62.1	67.4
1991	32.9	67.7	45.6
1992	32.4	62.7	52.4
1993	30.2	74.0	58.9
1994	29.9	87.3	66.6
1995	43.2	67.7	70.4
1996	35.6	66.7	73.5
1997	52.8	61.7	78.2
1998	47.1	62.9	81.3
1999	66.6	45.2	81.7
2000	82.5	55.0	85.8
2001	73.3	67.0	87.2
2002	77.3	71.1	88.3
2003	72.1	82.9	91.8

Number of Various Professional and Technological Personnel

Unit: Person

Index	1985	1990	2000	2003
Total	23537	26751	34676	38227
Natural Science Technological Personnel	17615	19704	29897	33728
Engineering Technological Personnel	1735	2367	3121	3038
Agricultural Technological Personnel	1838	1578	1852	1447
Scientific Researchers	324	360	32	378
Health Technological Personnel	6019	6530	7294	7112
Teaching Staff	7699	8869	17298	21753
Social Science Workers	5922	7047	4779	4526
Accountants	3447	2671	1421	1391
Statisticians	773	533	148	851
People Involved in Journalism, Publication and Radio Broadcasting Work	361	492	689	521
Translators/Interpreters	79	310	390	264
PE Coaches	50	48	42	43
Economics Workers	370	1755	606	120
People Involved in Library and   Archives	118	364	496	371
Industrial Art Workers	8	16	2	7
Artists	716	800	471	837
Lawyers and Notary Public		58	66	36
People Involved in Political Work			448	85