UNICEF Mongolia - Teachers College Columbia University

CHAPTER 5: TOTAL PAY OF TEACHERS AND THE BONUS SYSTEM
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TEACHERS IN MONGOLIA: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON RECRUITMENT INTO TEACHING,
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND RETENTION OF TEACHERS
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carpenters, guards, cleaners and firemen employed by the school. For each group, four performance
criteria are provided. In an aempt to illustrate the vagueness of the performance criteria, Table 17
lists the criteria that must be used to evaluate the performance of teachers, educaon managers, and
principals. The text in Table 17 includes direct excerpts from Government Order #54.
Unsurprisingly, the interviewed educaon managers complained about the vague criteria for the quarterly
performance bonus, but also the overlap in evaluaon criteria with the outcomes-based annual bonus.
It is striking that teachers and educaon managers refer to the scores A, B, C and D even though the
regulaon from 2008 (Government Order #54) reduced the categories to two: score A for staff members
who fulfill 90-100 percent of all criteria and score B for those who have accomplished 71-89 percent
of the criteria. In all the schools that were introduced, the managers connued to use A, B, C, and D
grades rather than the new two categories. The new regulaon was an aempt to suspend the pracce
of distribung skills-based quarterly performance bonuses to everyone on the staff and replace the
distribuon pracce with one that is performance-based. This study examined whether this intended
change really occurred.
Table 17: Evaluaon Criteria for Quarterly Performance Bonus; Excerpts
2.1.1. The following criteria should be used to accord quarterly incenves for teachers of
schools:
2.1.1.1. Planning and development of lesson plans;
2.1.1.2. Implementaon and improvement of the curriculum;
2.1.1.3. Development and usage of teaching aids and creaon/building of physical and psychological
learning environment
2.1.1.4. Changes/Progress in the development and growth of students.
2.1.2. The following criteria should be used to accord quarterly incenves for training managers
of schools and methodologists of children’s kindergarten:
2.1.2.1. Planning and development of training plans of the school and curricula for all subjects in
all grades;
2.1.2.2. Implementaon and improvement of the training plans and curricula;
2.1.2.3. Usage of teaching aids and creaon of physical and psychological learning environment;
2.1.2.4. Changes/Progress in the development and growth of teachers and students.
2.1.3. The following criteria should be used to accord quarterly incenves for school directors
and heads of children’s kindergarten:
2.1.3.1. School development policy and plan;
2.1.3.2. Implementaon, improvement/review, and monitoring of the school development policy
and plan;
2.1.3.3. Creaon, ulizaon and effecveness of the school facilies; creaon of posive team
spirits;
2.1.3.4. Changes/Progress in the development and growth of students.
Source: Annex to Government Order #54, December 10, 2008.
As with the other two bonuses, the educaon managers are in charge of evaluang the teacher’s eligibility
for a bonus. As menoned before, the reward criteria are very vague and difficult to determine, according
to the educaon managers. It is perhaps for this reason that this bonus has been modified at the school