A Tibetan expert told reporters here on Wednesday that China's policy of giving patriotic education to monks and nuns living on the Plateau has been "successful".

Prof. Dramdul, director of the Institute of Religion Studies with the China Tibetology Research Center (CTRC), spoke at a press conference that was organized by China's State Council Information Office.

"The patriotic education in monasteries has been very successful in increasing patriotism and citizen awareness among the clergy," Dramdul said in response to a foreign journalist's question.

"The patriotic education has not taken an excessive amount of the time of monks and nuns; it was combined with religious and literacy studies," the professor said.

Being engaged in religious studies, Dramdul told journalists that the patriotic education process is not political indoctrination.

"It is comprised of training such as teaching the clergy how to work out their financial regulations and manage their financial accounts."

Dramdul also admitted that the patriotic education had been intended to offset "foreign secessionists' infiltration" of the Tibetan clergy.

The 10th Panchen Lama said just before passing away that clergy in all monasteries should be patriots and Tibetan monasteries needed to rectify commandments in line with Buddhist creeds, Lhagpa Phuntshogs, general director of the CTRC, added to Dramdul's reply.

(Xinhua News Agency March 27, 2008)