Education

Primary and secondary education. During the socialist period, the State administered all kindergartens. The first kindergarten for thirty children was opened in Ulaanbaatar in 1930. By 1940, there were more than 40 kindergartens in the country. Towards the end of the 1980s 25 per cent of all pre-school age children attended kindergartens. During this period they acquire basic physical, aesthetic and work knowledge and are taught the elements of reading, writing A and counting. The most of their expenses are being borne by the State.

However, the strengthening of preschool education became an urgent objective in view of the drastic decline of the sector due to the economic and social crisis facing Mongolia at the wake of its transition to a market economy in the early 1990s.

In 1995, the Ministry of Science, Technology, Education and Culture adopted a national program on the improvement of the pre-school establishments. The implementation of the program started in December 1997 and was completed with great success in March 2001 with the financial support of the Government of Netherlands, the British Partner scheme and Save the Children (UK).

In 2003, the enrolment rate of chi in kindergartens from two to 7 years stands at around 40 percent. There are 654 pre-school institutions nation where 87711 children are admitted. 6000 teachers and assistant teachers work in the pre-school educational institutions.

Prior to the rule of socialism in Mongolia , a formal education (learning how to write and read) was wide spread in monasteries and among government officials. Informal practical skills learnt at home and passed on in the family environment. Stratified sections of society were then chosen to be formally educated either in order to communicate with neighboring countries or to be able to recite Buddhist texts. A formal education was exclusive and selective.

As result of the People's Revolution in 1921 favorable conditions created for developing civic education. People were provided with a right to free education regardless of gender, ethnic origin or wealth.

By the 1930s schools as formal places of learning for the, population were first introduced in administrative centers across the country. Boarding houses were established in order to house children from nomadic families, with food, clothing and schooling all provided by the state. Education became uniform, centralized and available to all.

By the mid 20th century, literacy rates throughout Mongolia increased drastically and with the shift from traditional Mongolian script to Cyrillic, teachers were sent out into the countryside to ensure all the population could read and write. For children growing up in this era, education (mainly based on Russian pedagogical teaching methods) was something that did not take place at school.

Pioneer activities allowed for moral and practical teachings outside the formal school environment. In countryside districts cooperatives, eager to attain maximum productivity ensured that all aspects of a child's education were to be looked after by the state thus leaving parents able to work. Subsequently, by the 1960s illiteracy was eradicated nationwide. The UNESCO recognized this fact and rewarded Mongolia .

After 30 years, by the beginning of the 1990s, the socio-economic situation of the country changed radically and the transition to an open market economy hit Mongolia 's centralized education system sharply. Many teachers chose to abandon their jobs due to the lack of income and turned to new innovative small trade and business. With the collapse of local cooperatives parents returned to herding with the few animals, they managed to reclaim and their children were often forced to help at home with herding.

However, since the late 1990s the situation for the country's educational system began to improve. Many structural changes were implemented in the educational sector of the country. One of those was the project "Education sector development program" implemented by the Ministry of Culture, Education and Science successfully since 1997. The program funded by loans and technical assistance grant from the Asian Development Bank aimed at improving the quality and cost-effectiveness of the education system, and restructuring education institutions. The implementation of the project has resulted in a modem sound secondary and higher education system.

The innovation in the educational sector, which has been implemented since 1995 according to a package of laws on education, created a legal basis to adjust the education system and content to those of highly developed countries, enhanced the quality of education at all school levels, upgrade equipment and facilities and raised social guarantees for students.

Mongolian children shall go to school at the age of seven and receive eleven years secondary education, according to the newly adopted package of laws on education in 2002. This provision of the law will be in effect from 2005. In connection with this, a new primary and secondary education standard has been developed, which is an important step for education sector reform.

In Mongolia , elementary education is universal and mostly free, with the result that the country boasts one of the highest literacy rates (97.8 per cent) in the world.

According to the statistics of 2003, there are 688 primary and secondary schools, with 528.000 children attending. The enrolment rates for children 8 years and 7 years old in first grade were 88.2 percent and 36.5 percent respectively. The enrolment rate of the children aged between 8-15 years is 98 per cent.

Among general education schools there are several specialized secondary schools. The goal of these schools is to provide appropriate education for pupils with special abilities in certain fields.

There are approximately 20725 highly educated teachers working in all Mongolian secondary schools. More than 7527 of them are teaching in elementary classes, and 13198 in higher classes. There are 32 vocational education and training centers with 20.000 students and over 800 teachers.

Higher Education. After the victory of the People's Revolution in 1921 most promising students were sent Russia or other foreign countries for further studies. In 1926, 40 Mongolian students went to Germany and France for higher education and they became the first Mongolian intelligentsia. The first Mongolian higher education institution, the Mongolian State University was founded on 5 May 1942 . It is first academic year commenced on October 5th 1942 with 93 students in three faculties and 57 students in the graduate course. Seven departments such as veterinary biology, mathematics, physics, organic chemistry and non-organic chemistry functioned at three faculties of the University at that time. The first graduates from the University awarded higher education diploma in 1946.
Later, in 1951, the teachers' training faculty was reorganized into the State Pedagogical Institute with 4 faculties, 8 teachers and 212 students. Now it is the State Pedagogical University .

The zoo-techniques faculty in 1958 became an independent Agricultural Institute, the medical faculty - Medical Institute in 1961. By 1966, Mongolian State University had the Technical Institute with 5 faculties and 13 departments, which later became a University. The faculty of Russian language took its own place in 1979 among others.

Today there are more than 10 State universities and institutes financed by the Government.

Since 1991 the first private higher education institutions such as "Mongol business", "Mongol Know ledge", "Shikhikhutag", "Shonkhor", "Otgontenger", "Orkhon" and others were put in place.

Otgontenger, one of the first private universities in the country, has seen in 2003 its 9th graduation. Over 300 young people graduated from the university, and 30 per cent of them have already acceded to new employment.

According to the 2002 statistics, 117.5 thousand students attend 178 universities, institutions, colleges, and vocational training including 136 private, 19.5 thousand students in 32 vocational training and production centers. 27.4 thousand teachers work in education field nationwide. By 2003, the total number of students in educational institutions of all types accounts for 733.2 thousand.

In 2002, the state subsidized fellowships of 6.050.9 million tugrugs for 24.560 children of herder families, civil servants and from socially vulnerable groups studying at universities, institutes and colleges. As part of "Year for Students", new work places were created to provide 371 students with part-time or full-time employment. The first medical clinic for students, financed by the Department of Health Insurances, opened its doors in March 2003. Students of both state-run and private universities and colleges will benefit from the service and receive diagnostic and preventive treatments.

In the new academic year of 2003-2004, 22 thousand new students will enter more than 70 state-run and nearly 120 private universities and colleges, as well as 30 vocational training schools. In the same school year, Mongolia is going to send 200 undergraduate and post -graduate students to 14 countries under the inter-governmental agreements.

Distance education has always been important in Mongolia , as so many herders live in remote areas, but economic hardship and higher tuition fees force students to stay at home. A nationwide radio education program, supported by-UNESCO, teaches nomads everything from marketing skills to how best to raise livestock.