UNICEF Mongolia - Teachers College Columbia University

CHAPTER 2: THE TEACHING WORKFORCE
center schools. 10 By the academic year 2009/2010, the rural-urban gap [using the new terminology]
nearly disappeared; the percentage of teachers with professional qualificaons (methodologist teachers,
lead teachers, and advisor teachers) was 49.6 percent in Ulaanbaatar and 45.9 percent in schools outside
of the capital. The reasons for the rural-urban divide were well studied in the PETS Mongolia study, which
found that there was a correlaon between teaching experience and promoon. Schools in urban areas
managed to aract experienced teachers from rural areas, and therefore, the rao of teachers with
professional qualificaons was much higher in urban schools. In addion, the chances of fulfilling the
promoon criteria were bigger in urban schools, because those teachers had easier access to professional
development courses, and the reviewers were in closer geographic proximity. A promoon from the rank
of regular teacher to methodologist requires, for example, a review by the school administraon, and
the Educaon and Culture Department at the provincial level merely needs to be informed. For the next
level—promoon from methodologist to lead teacher—the ECD methodologists review the teacher’s
porolio and observe the teacher’s class. Finally, for the highest rank—promoon from lead teacher to
advisor teacher—reviewers from the central level, based in Ulaanbaatar, must carry out the promoon
review. Over the past five years, the promoon review criteria have remained the same, but the number
of professional development courses offered throughout the country has significantly increased. The
spread of professional development courses has improved equity throughout the country, and the ruralurban
divide with regard to professional qualificaons has almost completely disappeared (if the new
official definion of rural and urban schools is applied). 11
1
2
3
4
5
6
Thirdly, as part of the structural salary reform, the rank supplements were increased by five percent for
each rank. Before 2007, teachers at the rank of methodologist earned only five percent of their base
salary in terms of salary supplement. Similarly, the supplement for lead teachers was ten percent and the
one for advisor teacher was fieen percent. 12
Taken together, these three trends have important implicaons for teacher-related policies. For example,
lead teachers may soon experience a sense of having a “glass ceiling” if the quota for promoons to
the highest salary level is not substanally lied. One of the greatest concerns, uncovered in the PETS
Mongolia study in 2006, has to do with the unequal promoon chances of teachers in rural, semi-urban,
and urban schools. In the five years since the study was completed, the professional development
opportunies in rural schools have visibly increased, but the stascal analyses are inconclusive as to
whether the rural-urban divide has really disappeared, due to the terminological changes that were
applied to the definions of rural and urban schools.
2.4. SUBJECT SPECIALIZATIONS
The number of part-me teachers is very small: only 3.2 percent of the teachers (887 teachers) work part-
me. In contrast, 26,358 teachers work full-me. Full-me work is seen as a right of the employee. The
same applies for teachers who are entled to full-me work (unless the teacher is a rered professional).
Even professionals who are hired as teachers for subjects that experience teacher shortage—or for
subjects with only a few weekly instruconal hours (English, informaon technology, physical educaon,
music and fine arts)—are encouraged to work full-me. Teachers hired part-me only as excepons. 13
10 World Bank. (2006). Mongolia. Public Financing of Educaon. Equity and Efficiency Implicaons [also referred to as PETS Mongolia
study]. Washington, DC: World Bank.
11 The problemac change in terminology cannot be overstated: the currently used, official methodology for defining “rural
schools” masks the vast differences between soum-center schools and aimag-center schools.
12 Joint Order # 328/131/283 of Ministers of Educaon, Culture and Science, Social Security and Labor, and Finance; see also the
well-research background report of the Finance and Economic Department, MECS (2007). Salary Structure of General Educaon
School Teachers. Ulaanbaatar: February 2007.
13 See Joint Order #307/91/237 of the Minister of Educaon, Culture and Science, the Minister of Social Protecon and Labor and
the Minister of Finance, August 31, 2007.
TEACHERS IN MONGOLIA: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON RECRUITMENT INTO TEACHING,
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND RETENTION OF TEACHERS
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