¡¡¡¡LHASA, Oct. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Tibetan lamas had new lessons to take since this week -- not on religious studies, but a course on maintenance of electrical appliances.

¡¡¡¡The regional administrations of temples and broadcasting in the Tibet Autonomous Region, southwest China, launched a training program on Wednesday for lamas to learn maintenance techniques of electrical appliances.

¡¡¡¡As the first group of learners, some 40 lamas from monasteries throughout the autonomous region will learn basic electronic theories and skills including circuit examination, use of electrical irons, radio repair and television tuning at the one-month course.

¡¡¡¡Tibetan lamaseries enjoy rising incomes thanks to the development of tourism in the autonomous region in recent years. As a result, electrical appliances such as radios, televisions and even mobile phones have become daily necessities for lamas.

¡¡¡¡However, Dawa Cering, a lama from the Zhaxilhunbo Monastery, said that they are often troubled by the problems with their radios and televisions.

¡¡¡¡"When there is something wrong with my radio, I can do nothing but feel dismayed," Dawa Cering said.

¡¡¡¡Not knowing what to do about his radio and unable to go out freely, Dawa Cering has to wait until his holiday comes to go for repair services, the cost of which is not cheap to a monk.

¡¡¡¡Ngagwang Cering, a young lama from the Sera Monastery, said the training program can help lamas grasp some skills to deal with the problems with their radios and other electrical appliances in the future.

¡¡¡¡"It not only benefits us lamas, we can also use the skills to serve local people," the lama said.

¡¡¡¡Though there are training programs in society, monastery administration officials said that they are usually too expensive for lamas and as most of the courses are given in standard Chinese, Tibetan-speaking lamas have difficulty in understanding the lessons.

¡¡¡¡Gyai'ra Losang Dainzin, vice-chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region, said that the training program is of special significance to lamas from remote and isolated temples, where repair services are not available and information communication is slow.

¡¡¡¡The vice chairman said that maintenance skills of radios and other appliances can help lamas keep well informed about the world.

¡¡¡¡The autonomous region also started a training program on farming technology in September for lamas and nuns. Enditem