Dr Pema Yangchen sworn in as Education Kalon
DHARAMSHALA, April 3: Dr Pema Yangchen was sworn in as the new Kalon of the Department of Education.
She took the oath of office from Tibetan Chief Justice Commissioner, Kargyu Dhondup at a brief ceremony held earlier today at the headquarters of the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala.
Dr Pema Yangchen’s nomination for the post of Kalon was approved by a majority vote of 26 votes by the Tibetan legislators during the recently held budget session of the 16th Tibetan Parliament in exile. She also received 15 votes against her nomination and 3 abstentions.
Dr Pema Yangchen, a former Vice-Principal of Dalai Lama Institute of Higher Studies, Bangalore is the lone female Kalon in the 15th Kashag led by Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay.
Dr Pema Yangchen completed her B.A. (Honors) in English Literature from Delhi University in 1993 and B.Ed from Madras University in 1996. Following which she taught at TCV Suja till 2001. In 2003, she completed her M.A. in TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages) from the University of Northern Iowa, USA and completed her Ed. D. (Doctor of Education) in Curriculum & Instruction from the same university in 2009.
Dr Pema Yangchen was awarded the ‘Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award’ by the University of Northern Iowa for her dissertation titled ‘Teacher Learning in a Tibetan School in Exile: A Community of Practice Perspective’.
She served as the English lecturer and co-chair of the Board of Examinations of the Dalai Lama Institute for Higher Education in Bangalore from 2009- 2012 and the Vice-Principal of the institute from 2012-2016.
