The Mongolian Constitution of 1992 guarantees its people general education free of charge. The fundamental assumptions stated in the nation’s Education Law of 1991 reflect the principle of equality in education: every citizen has equal rights to his or her education regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, sex, religion, disability, social status and economic condition (UNESCO 2008). The amendment to the Education Law in 2005 introduced a fundamental change in the education system, with a move from 10 to 11 years of compulsory schooling (IBE 2011). The Education Law contains sub-sector specific laws including the Pre-school Education Law, the Primary and Secondary Education Law and the Higher and Vocational Education Laws (UNESCO 2008). The Cambridge model of education structure is currently being piloted in the country, which would include a shift from 11 years of compulsory education to 12 years (VSO 2011).
The central education authority in Mongolia is the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science (MECS). The MECS is the central administrative body that formulates national educational policy and sets the standards for each level of formal education. The MECS also administers: teacher training, curriculum development and state examination procedures and is responsible for the accreditation of higher education institutions. The administrative field of the Ministry includes not only education and educational research, but also cultural and scientific affairs (UNESCO 2008).
In every province (aimag) there is an Education and Culture Department that oversees the educational and financial performance of schools and kindergartens in their areas. This also includes teacher professional development and student assessment. The management committee of the school, e.g. the School Board, consisting of teachers, students, parents and representatives of the local community, is in charge of managing the school. Administrative authority for education has been transferred from the central government to each educational institution to the local governments. This transfer of powers is even more pronounced at the higher education level where universities now have more autonomy than ever, to the extent that they can equally participate in the decision-making process along with the MECS (IBE 2011).
In addition to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, there are a number of key institutions involved in education. The State Inspectorate of Education, Culture and Science is a government agency that monitors and assesses the implementation of educational policies, regulations and laws and develops recommendations to educational institutions if needed. The National Vocational Education and Training Methodology Center (NVETMC), located within the MECS, is responsible for the development of skills standards and curricular materials for both formal and informal TVET courses, the production of textbooks, the training of TVET teachers and industry practitioners to develop modular training materials, teachers’ pedagogical training and research work on TVET-related labour. The Mongolian National Council for Education Accreditation (MNCEA), in operation since 1998, accredits new private tertiary education institutions, and in principle, also TVET centres and the quality of TVET programmes. Institutional accreditation is voluntary (IBE 2011).
The education agencies associated with the MECS are the Vocational and Technical Education Agency, the Education Research Institute (ERI), Centre for Educational Evaluation (EEC), the National Council for Education Accreditation (NCEA) and the National Centre for Non-Formal Distance Education (NFDE) (Government of Mongolia 2011).
Additionally, there are some state educational and professional institutions that operate with some degree of autonomy from the MECS including the Higher Education Quality Accreditation Centre (HEQAC), Education Assessment Centre, State Treasury Fund for Student Loans and Grants, and the Institute of Education (UNESCO 2008).
