In the last few months, Mongolia has experienced intermittent strikes by both teachers and medical workers, demanding a pay raise and the allocation of financial resources from the state budget. The teachers’ strike, in particular, sparked a debate over Mongolia’s education sector at large regarding unequal access to and quality of education in rural and urban areas.
A typical academic year starts on September 1 in Mongolia. This year, however, even before the start of school year, public school teachers threatened to strike if their wages weren’t increased. Between the months of September and October, Mongolia’s Education and Science Trade Union mobilized around 30,000 teachers and employees of 720 education organizations for a three-week worker’s strike, pressuring the government for higher wages.
The teachers’ strike couldn’t have come at a worst time either, as political rivalries encircled the ruling party, the Mongolian People’s Party (MPP), almost ousting another government. But what was more important to teachers and education advocates at the time was that despite the change of governments, financial resources for the education sector must be included in the state budget.
Public school teachers across Ulaanbaatar and some remote areas demanded that the government raise their salary to 2.8 million tugrik (around $780) a month. In response, Minister of Education Naranbayar Purevsuren rejected the strike, calling it illegal and not conducive toward positive changes in the system. The teachers and union supporters then called for his resignation.
Ex-Minister of Education Enkh-Amgalan Luvsantseren, defending his time in the post, highlighted that during the Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai government, teacher’s salaries were raised from 787,000 to 1,484.000 tugrik. Despite these increases, the Mongolian public showed support for the teachers, viewing their demand as legitimate.
To avoid further disruptions to the school year, Mongolia’s Prime Minister Zandanshatar Gombojav responded, promising a 20 percent increase in educator’s salaries. Moving forward, the Mongolian government is planning to increase the salary of teachers by 76 percent in two phases, beginning on January 1, 2026.
The social unrest in September and October highlights a deeper conundrum in Mongolia’s education sector. Truly fixing the system will require solving education inequality, reducing disparities between public and private education, and allocating a sustainable financial resources in public education.
According to several reports from the Ministry of Education, in 2024, a total of 855 schools were registered, of which 705 are public (79.7 percent) and 180 are private schools. The report also indicated that 726,175 students are enrolled in public schools, and 76,152 students are in private schools. Based on these numbers alone, it’s clear that the majority of Mongolian students depend on public schools – and public school teachers. Yet these schools are under strain, with growing class sizes in urban areas.
In 2007, the Mongolian government standardized the class size as public schools 32-35 students. Despite the resolution, amid the influx of migration from rural areas to Ulaanbaatar, the capital, class sizes have ballooned.
In Ulaanbaatar, teachers are working with an average of 50-60 students per class, with larger classes forced to be divided in two sections. Public schools in Sukhbaatar, Khan-Uul, and Chingeltei districts are known to have the largest classrooms.
Naranbayar, the education minister, told the press, “There are 8,028 classes with more than 35 students. In such a case, it is difficult to talk about the quality of education. At the moment, it is advisable to increase the teacher’s salary.”
During the latest discussion of the state budget, a public official from the Ulaanbaatar mayor’s office, Amartuvshin Amgalanbayar, criticized the government’s unequal distribution of financial resources. He highlighted that the new state budget includes building “13 schools in Arkhangai, 18 in Khuvsgul, 9 schools in Tuv aimag, and 10 schools in Uvurkhangai.” He stressed that more funds should go to construct new schools in Ulaanbaatar, with its population of 1.6 million people and class sizes of up to 60 students.
In contrast, private schools have much smaller classes, hence, lower student-teacher ratio and higher education quality. And this leads to another challenge in Mongolia’s education system: education inequality, both between public and private schools and between urban and rural areas.
One of the main challenges for both students and teachers from rural areas is the 12th graduate General Entrance Exam, which is requited to enter university in Mongolia. With limited resources and access to foreign language training, teachers in rural areas often fall short on foreign language competencies, in comparison to Ulaanbaatar-based educators. On the other extreme, private schools in urban areas have the luxury of hiring well-educated, well-trained teachers and private tutors to prepare students for exams such as IELTS and TOEFL.
The combination of these inequalities can hinder students’ ability to prepare for such exams, let alone to compete for scholarships and grants. Such unequal access to education in both rural and urban areas leaves vulnerable students at a competitive disadvantage.
For example, a 2024 General Entrance Examination statistical report showed that, on average, examinees from a provincial center scored 503 on the English language scale, while examinees from a soum (sub-provincial) center scored 470. Examinees from Ulaanbaatar city, meanwhile, scored 514 on average.
All these elements have contributed to the inequality of education access, furthering the divide between haves and have-nots in Mongolian society as a whole.
In support of improving English-language capabilities, in 2021, the Mongolian parliament adopted the Resolution on the Actions to Promote English Language Learning for All (2022-2025). On the government’s part, this was an attempt to remove disparities between rural and urban education, particularly for the teaching of English as a second language.
Mongolia’s international partners have been advocating for equal education and increasing access to higher education. The U.K. Embassy in Mongolia, for example, funded a 2025 UNICEF project to improve rural area teachers’ and students’ English language skills, which was implemented in Bayan-Ulgii province.
Given the ongoing crisis in Mongolia’s education sector, the Mongolian legislature is looking into finding an actionable solution to this complex issue. Yet the government is part of the problem. Education policies have been constantly changing in the last 30 years. The inconsistency and fluctuations in education curricula, regulations, and requirements weakened implementation and helped exacerbate education inequality between rural and urban, private and public schools.
One of the issues under new scrutiny is whether private education institutions should receive public support. Tax break and financial resources for private schools had been included in previous state budgets. Public opinion is sharply against this, with critics arguing that private schools should not benefit from tax relief since most of them are profit-seeking institutions. Critics also warn that giving financial breaks to private schools could deepen educational disparities and weaken public school systems. Mongolian legislators are currently debating the issue.
Last year, Mongolia’s parliament approved the “Government Action Program for 2024-2028,” which listed “Reform of the Education Sector” as one of the priority areas. The Action Program includes an impressive list of 40 initiatives to be implemented within a framework of four main goals: educating knowledgeable and competent specialists, advancing digital education, providing equal, accessible and quality education; and strengthening teaching and human resources.
The proposed education framework includes a focus on strengthening cooperation in English language, coding, robotics, and artificial intelligence skills development courses. If implemented efficiently, these courses will be introduced as early as third grade.
In the long term, the promised salary increases alone are not enough to achieve this ambitious vision. The Ministry of Education will need to implement actionable measures aimed at reducing the workload by changing the structure and organization of general education schools to reduce the number of students per teacher. If these issues are left unresolved, Mongolia’s education inequality will continue to widen, which will impact the country’s human capital.
