UNICEF Mongolia - Teachers College Columbia University

CHAPTER 5: TOTAL PAY OF TEACHERS AND THE BONUS SYSTEM
• MECS Ministerial Order #74, November 13, 2008, “On Approving the Procedure for Issuing
and Revoking Teacher’s License”
o The Order outlines the work of the “Teacher-Licensing Commiee” and explains the
procedure for those teachers who apply for a new teacher’s license (including those
who have changed their specializaon) as well as those whose license was revoked and
request to be reinstated. The license may be revoked for a variety of reasons, listed in
the MECS Order #74. It may also be revoked based on the recommendaon of the local
“Ethics Council” (see secon 3.1.2).
• MECS Ministerial Order #41, February 12, 2007, “Ethics Rule of General Educaon School and
Kindergarten Teachers”
o The Order presents the ethical norms of teachers and lays out the sancons in case of
non-compliance with the norms. In addion, the role of the newly established Ethics
Councils is described.
These three orders together have changed the work condions in schools considerably. Contrary to
before, it is now possible to revoke a teaching license and terminate the employment of a teacher.
Outcomes-contracts are oen used to document the below-standard performance of a teacher. From
the perspecve of the Teachers Union of Mongolia, the outcomes-contracts in effect transformed the
teaching profession in Mongolia into a one-year term-appointment that, assuming good performance, is
renewed every year. In other words, the outcomes-contract has made teachers vulnerable and subject
to annual evaluaon by educaon managers and, in the case of conflict, higher levels of administraon.
Such a contract is typically very broad and deals with all kinds of performance areas concerning a teacher,
ranging from genuinely pedagogical tasks (improving outcome of students, preparing lessons, etc.) to
tasks that have lile impact on teaching quality (e.g., subming reports in me, communicaon skills
and appearance of teacher, etc.). The revocaon of licenses more oen than not leads to legal bales,
and in the end, the only licenses revoked have been of those teachers who, due to geographic distance,
did not have access to help from lawyers of the Teachers Union.
In two of the schools from the UNICEF sample, all of the teachers received the same percentage of their
salary for the annual outcomes-based supplement (30 percent), while in all other schools, the payment
varied from 10–50 percent of the monthly salary. There seems to be no limitaon for the outcomesbased
bonus, in pracce. This bonus is clearly subject to the educaonal fund that the school managed
to accumulate from savings or from addional income. Thus, resource-rich schools are able to provide
higher awards for the outcomes-contracts than smaller schools that, due to the higher per capita cost, are
not able to save from the entled variable part of the budget (salary fund) or simply have few addional
sources of income.
5.2.3. Bonus for Skills-Based Quarterly Performance
This parcular bonus (A, B, C Bonus) is part of the salary fund and is centrally allocated to schools; this
is spelled out in the Government Order #54 of December 10, 2008, “On According Pecuniary Incenves
Based on Quarterly Work Results.” 41 The Order specifies the criteria for each group of employees in
the school: teachers, educaon managers, principals, school social workers, school dormitory teachers,
school librarians, school doctors, as well as accountants, treasurers, cooks, plumbers, electricians,
1
2
3
4
5
6
TEACHERS IN MONGOLIA: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON RECRUITMENT INTO TEACHING,
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND RETENTION OF TEACHERS
83
41 Signed by the Prime Minister, Minister of Educaon, Culture and Science, and Minister of Finance.