Dharamshala, Oct. 20 -- The Dharamshala-based Tibetan government-in-exile, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), on Monday claimed that Chinese authorities had closed at least three privately run Tibetan schools in Golog (Chinese: Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture over a period of a few weeks, according to information relayed through reliable sources in the region.

The government-in-exile said that the closures have deprived hundreds of Tibetan children of the Tibetan-medium education their own communities had established for them, deepening fears that one of the last independent channels for teaching Tibetan language and culture was being systematically dismantled.

"The sources said the government is closing private schools acr...