Dharamsala, 5th July 2024: In accordance with the Charter of Tibetans-in-Exile, Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile administered the oath of office to Passang Tsering, a new member of the Public Service Commission earlier today. Passang Tsering – the Principal of the College for Higher Tibetan Studies (CHTS), was unanimously elected as a member of the Public Service Commission (PSC) during the 154th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile.

In the presence of Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, Sikyong Penpa Tsering, and standing committee members of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, a brief swearing-in ceremony for the member of the Public Service Commission was held at 10: 00 am at the Parliament hall.

The swearing-in ceremony started with the offering of Tibetan traditional scarves to the portrait of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, followed by oath administration, serving of dresil (sweetened rice), and butter tea.

The ceremony concluded with the presentation of Tibetan ceremonial scarves to congratulate the new member of the Public Service Commission by the Speaker, the Sikyong, members of the Standing Committee, and General Secretary of the Tibetan parliamentary secretariat.

Brief Bio:

Mr. Passang Tsering arrived in India at the age of 10 in 1982. He was enrolled at Upper Tibetan Children’s Village (UTCV) in Dharamshala, where he distinguished himself as school captain in 1992 and captain of the boys’ hostel in 1993. The following year, he pursued higher education at Spicer Memorial College in Pune, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree with Geography as his major and Computer Science as his minor. Mr. Tsering was instrumental in establishing the Tibetan Students Association in Pune, serving as its coordinator and later as president. He furthered his IT studies at Skyline Computer Centre in Dharamshala.

In 1998, Mr. Tsering assumed the role of secretary at the College for Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarah. His academic achievements led to his selection for the Tibetan Scholarship Program (Fulbright Scholarship) from 2008 to 2009 in the United States, where he focused on Education Leadership and Adult and Post-Secondary Education. Upon returning to India, he served as General Secretary of the CHTS until May 2016. On June 1, 2016, he was appointed principal of the institute, a position he holds to this day.

Mr. Tsering has actively contributed to education, co-teaching Tibetan culture and civilization to visiting students from Emory University and Earlham College’s Tibetan Study Abroad program. He also spent seven weeks as a visiting resident scholar at Earlham College, teaching the same subject.