ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA – The education sector in Mongolia is undergoing a comprehensive reform to address the country’s needs for skilled workers under a knowledge-based market economy.
The government plans to realign its education system to the needs of a market economy by enhancing the quality of skilled workers and facilitating access of the poor and disadvantaged to all levels of education.
International education planners, experts, and policy makers are meeting in a two-day conference, “Education Policy Research in Mongolia”, to share their research studies and data on education reform and plan for the way forward.
“The goal of the conference is to advance policy research and educational planning in the context of Mongolia’s transition to a knowledge society,” said Diwesh Sharan, Director for Urban and Social Sectors Division of the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) East Asia Department.
The reports to be presented and discussed at the conference will focus on the assessment of primary and secondary education, higher education reform, the use of open resources in distance learning, and the successful salary reform in 2007 on the recruitment, development and retention of teachers.
As Mongolia’s lead development partner in the education sector, ADB financed $99.4 million for five loans, 11 technical assistance operations, and three grant projects in Mongolia from 1996 to 2011. In general, ADB is helping Mongolia improve its vocational and higher education in order to meet pressing labor market demands and promote broad-based and inclusive growth.
The main organizers are ADB, the Ministry of Education and Science, and the Mongolian State University of Education. The co-organizers are the Institute of Education Research, National University of Mongolia, Mongolian Education Alliance, Mongolian University of Science and Technology, Open Society Forum, and Columbia University in New York.