Unlike some newly developing countries, Mongolia is not burdened with a low literacy rate which could hamper its economic growth. In fact, at 87%, Mongolia can claim one of the highest literacy rates in the world. However, with the transition from a Russian soviet-dependent economy to a market-driven one, Mongolia’s education systems and its envied literacy rates are changing, and not always for the better.
A look at the history of education in the country gives a glimpse at how politics and culture have shaped today’s terrain. For centuries, Buddhist monasteries were the sole source of education throughout Mongolia and limited exclusively to the monks. Instruction was in the local Tibetan language for the lower levels of education and, while higher education was available (including training in medicine), it was considered esoteric and unworldly.
By 1921, with the advent of the communist People’s Government of Mongolia, strong ties were established with Russia, although Mongolia never became a subordinate entity. At the height of its economic dependence on Russia, most of Mongolia’s educational supplies – including books, equipment, teacher training and student exchange opportunities – were courtesy of Russia. As a result, Mongolian education patterned itself after the Russian model: it was universal, compulsory and free. It was also teacher-based, scientifically-oriented and rigid. While this type of schooling produced a high rate of students who were literate, it has failed to provide students with the ability to be flexible, adjust to change or to think innovatively.
As a student in the National University in Ulaanbataar, B Erdenebat, reflects: ‘The Mongolian education system is still not on the right track. High school students aren’t well-prepared for studying at university because the university still hasn’t improved academic subjects.”
Mongolian students go to school for eleven years, from age 7 to 17. The education system consists of preschool, primary school (grades 1-6); secondary school (compulsory to grade 8, complete at grade 10); vocational and technical training; and universities. Schooling is considered to be very important; in the rural areas where there may be no schools, children of nomads are often sent to the aimag (province) centres to attend boarding schools, only returning home on breaks and summer vacation.
D Ayurbuni is a university student in Ulaanbataar, and she remarks that, ‘In the last 10 years, the Mongolian education system has made a lot of changes. The Education Ministry has produced recommendations on changing or modernising education but it’s not so clear what effect these changes have on real life. And academic subjects still haven’t been improved. There still aren’t enough desks and books and other material resources for the students, and very little money is spent on teachers.”
Currently, there are 29 state universities and 40 private universities in Mongolia, and in the last 10 years many kinds of schools have surfaced that are teaching everything from computer technology to traditional medicine, reflecting the changing needs of students. But most of these are located in the capital city of Ulaanbataar, so those students who live in the rural areas must find a way to get to the city.
With 43% of the total Mongolian population under the age of 14, students’ education is the key to Mongolia’s continued success. Mongolia, with the assistance of many nation-donors and international NGOs, has begun to revamp its educational system. Laws urging and monitoring change were passed in 1991 and 1995 but it has become apparent that many of the revisions are slow in being implementing.
Students in remote provincial areas can see that their education system is lagging behind. One secondary student in Govi-Sumber aimag remarks: ‘Our education is not good compared to other countries and there are also big differences in the education in Ulaanbataar [the capital] and here in
the countryside.”
‘Yeah,” says his friend. ‘We don’t get much equipment, like computers, and there isn’t very much training. We also don’t have any clubs so there isn’t much to do in our free time but we do play basketball and volleyball and some of us take other courses like chemistry and physics.”
There are several reasons for this apparent lack of progress, not the least of which is funding. Although many international organisations have been assisting with educational reforms, there is still a lack of funding to address some of the core issues:
– Poor infrastructure, especially poor quality buildings, lack of heating and equipment. Forty-five kindergartens and 86 rural schools were forced to close for up to 90 days due to a lack of heating or other difficulties.
– Low teachers’ salaries – teachers are among the lowest paid of government workers. As a result, many are leaving the profession for more lucrative work.
– Public expenditure for education fell from 11.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 1990 to 5.5% in 1998.
– Lack of flexibility in subjects from aimag to aimag – courses are not tailored to the region or student population.
– Many poor families have to decide between paying for water or buying clothing and supplies for their children to attend school. As a result, many families have reduced access to education opportunities.
An increasing number of students (16.5%) are dropping out, mostly young men who are choosing to stay in rural areas to help their herder families, and the number of children attending the rural boarding schools has also decreased by 35%. At the same time, the Mongolian National Statistical Office survey reports that the number of female students far exceeds the males by a large margin. In fact, women now make up more than 63% of university students and 65% of those earning master’s degrees. Even among the employed rural population, women are consistently more educated than their male counterparts. And the 1997 Human Development Report stated that 80% of medical doctors, 70% of lawyers and 73% of teachers in Mongolia are women. In some respects this can be considered very good news but any lopsided statistic should be regarded as ominous. The problem now is to continue encouraging young women while addressing the obstacles young rural men face. Distance education is a possibility for some of these rural students and it’s one of the alternatives that Mongolia is looking at.
The Mongolian government is attempting to make the necessary reforms and improvements needed to keep Mongolia on track with its transition to a market economy. ‘We need to reform the education system based on our resources and possibilities,” says Mongolian National University teacher G Buyuntogtog. ‘The Mongolian government is spending a lot of money on education but they have to change the current system. We need to change the structure and organisation of the schools and we also need to modernise and improve academic programme s. We also must recognise that there is an urgent need to change the teaching methodology of primary and secondary schools.”
To do this, Mongolia is partnering with several international donors like Unesco and the Asian Development Bank to improve schools, renovate buildings, and provide equipment and supplies. However, one of the biggest obstacles to overcome is that of attitude. Anne Kalvestrand, a senior Fellow at the United States Embassy, encourages Mongolians to see their future as a bright one. ‘I am working to encourage my students to see Mongolia as a first world nation . . . Our thinking affects the risks we are willing to take and our course of action, so Mongolia must begin to think and act like a first world nation. Mongolians know what to do and what needs to be changed. Now is the time to act.”