Newcomer Education Centre

The Newcomer Education Centre, coordinated by Volunteer Tibet, offers language courses to new incoming Tibetans allowing them to have better qualifications and therefore a brighter future in exile. Based in a classroom above our office in McLeod Ganj, the Centre offers tuition and conversation classes in English and French at a variety of levels, and also occasionally German, Spanish, and Tibetan language courses.

The classes are open to everyone and are composed mostly of members of the local Tibetan refugee community, but also of people of other nationalities who are staying for an extended period in McLeod Ganj; for example Korean, Thai and Burmese monks who are studying Tibetan Buddhism at local monasteries and of course Volunteer Tibet volunteers. The students share a devotion to learning and study and an infectious enthusiasm for languages, and a desire to utilise the courses the centre offers to improve their future prospects. 

Many of the students have never recieved the opportunity to study a foreign language before; the centre offers free tuition in a supportive and stimulating atmosphere, allowing them to gain linguistic skills to enable them to communicate with people from all over the world and not just within their community. Learning a new language opens up a whole new world of potential for our students, giving them access to knowledge, ideas and experiences previously unavailable to them. Knowledge of a foreign language will help them gain future employment, allow them to pursue their educational careers further, and also enable them to communicate with supporters of the Tibetan struggle all over the world, reaching out to forge new alliances and friendships to further the cause and strengthen the fight for Tibetan freedom.

The teachers are all volunteers who wish to offer their time and skills to helping the Tibetan refugee communtiy and it's supporters, doing a fantastic job of offering a service which is at the same time professional but relaxed. The classes are a thousand miles away from the boring grammar lessons many of us remember from school! The classes are fun and interactive, with the teaching specially tailored to meet the needs and interests of the participating students.

OUR STUDENTS (Photos and quotes from a few students)

OUR TEACHERS (Photos and quotes from teachers)

THE CENTRE NEEDS YOUR HELP!

In order to continue giving members of the Tibetan exile community and their supporters this valuable opportunity for education and growth, we desperately need resources.

Volunteer teachers

Our classes are only possible due to the help and hard work of our volunteer teachers. If you would like to be a part of the centre and provide a brighter future to our Tibetan students, please look at the VOLUNTEERING SECTION for details of teaching posts. We continuously need teachers; no previous experience in teaching is needed and even a week or two of helping out would be of a great help to our students. Remember, teaching at Volunteer Tibet is not a one way process – our teachers learn as much as our students, about themselves and their capabilities and about the Tibetan community and the issues affecting it. The classes are as much about a cultural exchange experience as the language learning itself, something that both students and teachers alike are beneficiaries of.

Funding and sponsorship

We are in need of financial support to continue running the centre; to pay the charges for the room and to help students with the costs of their accommodation. For more information on how to donate to Volunteer Tibet, please see the Donate section.

One way to enable us to continue providing this service is via sponsorship, of both the students and their learning environment.

Sponsor a Tibetan student

For 1000 rupees ($20 USD) you can cover the accommodation and boarding of a Tibetan Newcomer Education Centre student here in McLeod Ganj for one month. Many of our students have recently arrived directly from Tibet and need support in finding a place to live; by sponsoring a student you will guarantee a safe environment for our students to return to after a day of study.

Sponsor a classroom

For 4500 Rupees ($90 USD) you can enable us to pay the costs of one month of classes at the NEC. This donation will enable classes to continue from 10.00-6.00, 5 days a week, for all those students in need of education.

Donate materials

Our classes are in need of materials to enable them to continue; donations of markers, pens and notebooks for the students; language coursebooks and grammar books (English, French and German, beginner to advanced) and other books and reading materials in these languages are gratefully received and appreciated by our students.

Due to demand from our students, we would very much like to provide computer classes in the centre, training students in how to use modern technology such as word processing, internet, email and design packages to help them communicate with the wider world, access information, and provide them with skills to help them in future study and employment. To do this we are in need of computers and equipment. If you could donate an old computer you no longer need or use to the Centre, it would be of enormous benefit to all the students who use the centre.

For more information on donating money and materials, please contact us on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and check the DONATE section of the website.

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