Educational
Changes in Mongolia
Timeline of
Mongolia’s Educational System from 1911 to 2003
1911 – The first
formal and secular education in Mongolia begins.
1935 – 55% of all
party members in Mongolia are illiterate. Only 2.7% of
all children are enrolled in secular state schools. 13%
of all children are enrolled in monastic schools.
1938 – Stalin orders
the destruction of nearly all monasteries in Mongolia.
1940 – Compulsory
state education is created for children between the ages
of eight and eighteen. Education is paid for by the
state, and accounts for more than 15 percent of
Mongolia’s GDP. Mongolia’s educational system is also
largely supported by funds from the Soviet Union.
1941 – Under
Stalin’s orders, in the 1941 the traditional Mongol
script, based on Uighur script, is replaced by the
Cyrillic alphabet.
1942 – The Mongolian
State University, Mongolia’s first university, opens its
doors with three departments: Medical, Pedagogical, and
Agricultural studies.
1990 – Mongolia
reaches a literacy rate of over 90% and before 1990,
reaches over 95% literacy.
1991- Privatization
creates new challenges in education and daily life.
Universities are no longer free, and privatization
forces many herders to grow larger amounts of livestock
to become profitable, requiring many of the children
(predominately boys) to remain on the land rather than
receive an education.
1992 – The number of
children dropping out before completing secondary school
increases from 6,133 in 1989, to a peak of 48,446 in
1992.
1993 – UNESCO/DANIDA
(Danish International Development Fund) sponsors “The
Gobi Women’s Project” whereby 15,000 nomadic women,
aged 15 to 45, are currently receiving training through
radio to better their conditions (see below)
1995 – Government
resolution 194, Procedure for Granting loan and
assistance to students studying in professional schools.
1998 – The total
number dropouts between 1989 and 1998 exceed 166,000.
Two-thirds of all drop-outs occurred at the primary
school level, from which nearly 70% were boys.
Current Problems
facing Mongolia
The phenomenon of
male dropouts and a poor male literacy rate compared
with that of females is creating new social problems in
Mongolia.
Scott Hill, a friend of Prof.
Ganbaatar, helped explain the situation
currently facing the nomadic population in Mongolia.
The Gobi Women’s
Project
Implemented in 1993,
subjects taught included livestock rearing techniques;
family care (family planning, health, nutrition and
hygiene); income generation using locally available raw
materials and basic business skills, for a new market
economy.
Prof. Ganbaatar showed everyone a sample
of the traditional Mongol
script by
writing Happy Lunar New Year on the chalkboard.
Current problems in Mongolia’s
educational system include:
- An insufficient
number of teachers
- Insufficient
money
- Lack of
equipment/tools needed to provide a modern, formal
education
[L to R]
Brian Schwartz, Hiroko Karan, Delgermaa
Ganbaatar, and Thomas Tam
