Ulaanbaatar, April 28, 2026 /MONTSAME/. Minister of Education Enkh-Amgalan Luvsantseren presented his policy roadmap for the education reform on April 27.

Prime Minister Uchral Nyam-Osor proposed the “Chuluulye” (Liberate) initiative, four freedom paths, and four liberation policies. In connection with this, the government approved the Ministry of Education's “Let’s Liberate Mongolian Youth from Education Lags” comprehensive plan on April 22. Within this framework, Minister of Education Enkh-Amgalan Luvsantseren has planned to implement seven main reforms. Specifically:

-Education reform: Ecosystem

-Liberating Teachers from Workload

-The Best School Is the One Closest to Home

-Liberation through Digitalization

-Uninflated Grading System

-Good Governance

-Performance- and result-based financing

As part of the “Liberating Teachers from Workload” component, the program includes measures such as requiring teachers who studied with state funding but do not work in their profession to reimburse those costs, and allowing young people who work in understaffed schools to have their service counted as equivalent to military service.

The minister noted, “In 2023, Parliament passed a comprehensive package of education laws. With this, we introduced the national concept that ‘the best school is the one closest to home.’ Differences in education quality between public and private schools, urban and rural schools, and central and suburban schools have been acknowledged across the sector. This law includes six major reforms to eliminate these disparities.

First, curriculum reform: Had we followed the planned timeline, 9th grade could have transitioned to the Cambridge system by now. Instead, we are only beginning with 1st grade this year, meaning we have lost three years.

Second, a strong teacher system: We will restore a system where the best candidates become teachers.

Third, a per-student funding model: Each child should carry funding. This system will help eliminate disparities between public and private schools, as well as between urban and rural areas. Funding levels will differ by grade (1–12).

Fourth, an assessment system: We will eliminate falsified grading and introduce evaluation systems for teachers, schools, and students.

Fifth, school management reform: We will establish a system where the most capable individuals become school and kindergarten principals.”

By September 1, 2026, more than 700 principals of public schools will undergo certification. Alongside recent salary increases, teachers will be expected to demonstrate higher skills and productivity.

He emphasized that certification will begin with cases such as Mongolian language teachers in Bayan-Ulgii who cannot speak Mongolian, English teachers who cannot speak English, and mathematics teachers who struggle to understand upper-level content, stating that improving education quality must start from this point.

Mongolia has also participated in the international PISA assessment for the first time. Results showed that 15-year-old students lag behind their peers by 2–3 years in science and mathematics. The minister noted that although a special program should have been implemented following the 2022 PISA results, progress had stalled. He also highlighted that students in soum (rural district) schools lag behind those in the capital by 2.5 years in mathematics, and that one in two students struggles with reading comprehension.

Continuing, he stated that under the “closest school is the best school” policy, curriculum reform will focus on improving lessons, textbooks, teacher skills, and the school environment. The goal is to develop three core capacities in Mongolian children: intellectual, emotional, and physical. He added that the current system relies too heavily on memorization and exam preparation, and that reforms will shift toward preparing students for real life. Currently, only 3% of students are trained for academic competitions, while 97% experience learning gaps.

The presentation also outlined measures to address the teacher shortage. For example, steps will be taken to return teachers whose education was funded by the state back into the profession; otherwise, they will be required to repay the costs. Over the past five years, private schools have attracted many top public-school teachers through higher salaries under various partnership programs. The ministry plans to bring back those who left in the past three years, or require compensation from private institutions if they are not returned.

Additionally, final-year university students will be placed directly into jobs before graduation, and a program to train teachers within 100 days will be implemented. Furthermore, individuals who have not repaid loans from the Education Loan Fund will be required to work as teachers in rural areas, with their loans offset through service. These teacher development measures will be implemented nationwide in phases.