The Abbot
One of the most important officials of the monastic college is the Abbot (Khenpo), in terms of religious and secular matters. The bursars (chagzoe) of the monastic college select a list of learned and accomplished Geshes. The list is sent to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and from this list His Holiness directly selects one as the Khenpo. The enthronement ceremony of the Khenpo is practiced in the traditional way. The term of abbotship is six years.
The main responsibility of the Khenpo is to look after the religious and secular matters of the monastic college. His religious responsibilities are: to supervise all of the religious gatherings in the monastic college, to teach Lamrim Chenmo (Detailed Stages of the Path to Enlightenment) during the evening religious festivals (Sochoe), to supervise the Geshe examinations and to maintain good discipline in the monastic college. His secular responsibilities are: to attend all important meetings related to the monastic college and to travel abroad for the sake of the monastic college. Before 1959, the Khenpo had the authority to directly select Lama Zhunglenpa (Assistant to the Khenpo), Disciplinarian and Chant Master. They are collectively called the Uchoesum. Now however, the Disciplinarian is elected by the monks, while the Assistant Khenpo and Chant Master are still directly appointed by the Khenpo.
Lama Zhunglenpa
The Khenpo directly appoints an elder Geshe as the Lama Zhunglenpa, who is well informed of the responsibilities of the Khenpo. His enthronement ceremony is traditionally celebrated in his Khangtsen (a regional division in a monastic college).
The term of the Lama Zhunglenpa is not fixed. His main responsibility is to take charge of the three principal ritual ceremonies (summer retreat, confession and purification, and releasing summer retreat). His other responsibilities are: to supervise debate in the debating ground, to look after the standing debate (tsoglang, where in large monasteries, amid thousands of monks, two monks stand and debate), to look after the activities of the junior Geshes, and to attend and to take responsibility for all the major and minor meetings related to the monastic college.
Disciplinarian
The students of Madhyamika and above classes gather in the prayer hall and list the most deserving candidates for Disciplinarian. The monks again vote from the list. The votes are counted by the heads of Khangtsens and whoever gets the maximum votes is elected as the Disciplinarian.
The term of the Disciplinarian is one year. After the selection, Ceremonies are performed in a traditional way in his Khangtsen, and in the prayer hall of the Drepung Monastic University. The main responsibility of the Disciplinarian is to look after the discipline of the monks during prayer and debate. He also looks after prayer recitations, group debates of the Khangtsens and other activities of the monastic college.
Chant Master
The Chant Master is directly appointed by the Khenpo. He must be of good voice, excellent in chants and well informed of the common and uncommon chants of the monastic college.
He should possess qualities such as gracefulness. After appointment, his enthronement ceremonies are performed in his Khangtsen and in the prayer hall of the monastic college just like that of the Disciplinarian. The Chant Master bears the responsibility of keeping the common and uncommon chants of the monastic college alive during the prayers. He also takes the responsibility of teaching the art of chanting to the junior monks who are good in prayers and whose voices are good. The Chant Master’s term is not fixed.
Bursars
Just like the Disciplinarian, eight bursars (Chakzoes) are selected through election by the students of Madhyamika and above classes.
No less than eight bursars are selected in each term. The term for the bursars is three years. The main responsibilities of the bursars are to find the financial necessities for the sustenance of the monks of the monastic college. They are responsible for keeping continuous contact with the benefactors of the monastic college, receiving important guests to the monastic college and administering all the sections under them. They are also responsible for summoning meetings of the Khenpo, Uchoesum and the heads of the Khangtsens.
Chabril
The Chabril (Assistant to the Disciplinarian), before 1959, was appointed by the Khenpo. Nowadays, the Chabril is appointed by the Disciplinarian according to his needs.
There is no fixed term for the Chabril. His responsibilities are: to supervise the monks at debate, to receive the Khenpo during the assembly prayers, to oversee the seating arrangement of the monks at the prayer, and to see whether all the monks have received the offerings such as tea and food during the prayers. He is also responsible for distributing monks for the common monastic duties.