UNICEF Mongolia - Teachers College Columbia University

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PREFACE
There has been a great debate in recent years on the shi from Educaon for All to Learning for All. The
argument has been made by many that providing access to educaon is not sufficient. Enrollment in
school is only the first step; what happens subsequently at school and during class is equally important.
Many things have to occur in an educaon system to transform schools into incubators for the personal,
social, and cognive growth of children and youth. Unsurprisingly, great pressure has been placed on
teachers to fulfill these high expectaons associated with formal educaon.
Most of the studies on teachers deal with teacher development, notably with pre-service and inservice
teacher educaon. This study moves beyond the narrow focus on professional development and
examines recruitment into teaching, teacher salary and a host of other factors that impact the quality of
teaching. We carried out the study in the spring and summer of 2011. Mongolia is a fast growing economy
and its residents experience social and economic change at a breathtaking pace. Naturally, every study
is a snapshot of developments at a parcular me and moment in history; however, Mongolia is an
interesng case in point of teacher development because it has undergone a major teacher salary reform
in 2007. We list four recent developments to depict how the educaon sector is connuously undergoing
changes.
TEACHERS IN MONGOLIA: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON RECRUITMENT INTO TEACHING,
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND RETENTION OF TEACHERS
In the first half of 2012, the salary for teachers—along with wages for all public service employees—was
increased twice. On February 1, 2012, salaries were raised by 80,000 MNT, represenng an average
increase of 25 percent. On May 1, 2012, the base salary was increased by another 23 percent. Thus,
the salary of a teacher is, as of May 1, 2012, on average 465,466 MNT ($354) for entry-level posions.
Another important change involves the employment of school principals. The most recent Educaon
Law Amendment (Arcle 9, Secon 30.1.15), passed in May 2012, reposioned the hiring mechanism
for principals to migate the effects of interpersonal networks and to increase merit-based employment.
Principals are once again hired by the province or city-level educaon authories, and not by the local
government. Finally, a very popular program from the socialist mes was reintroduced with the Educaon
Law Amendment of 2012; according to Arcle 13, Secon 40.8, teachers are entled to professional
development for all five years, paid from the State budget.
This study provides important clues on how to further improve the quality of teaching in Mongolia. The
Ministry of Educaon, Culture and Science (former name) guided us through the process and made sure
that we examined research quesons that are relevant for ongoing reforms in Mongolia. We are very
pleased that UNICEF and the Ministry of Educaon, Culture and Science have entrusted us with carrying
out this empirical study on teachers and hope that the findings will be used for further policy decisions
and dialogue.
September, 2012
Gita Steiner-Khamsi
Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University
New York
Batjargal Batkhuyag
Execuve Director, Mongolian Educaon Alliance
Ulaanbaatar
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