The World Bank has funded educational efforts in Mongolia since 2006, focusing on improving educational resources in rural areas.
As the Mongolian People's Republic under the Soviet Union's sphere of influence, the Mongolian economy experienced significant growth because of a large inflow of assistance from the more developed regions of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. The capital and technological assistance from the Warsaw Pact led to rapid growth within its industries, with mining benefiting significantly, and there were big developments in education and public health.
After Mongolia's transition to a free market economy in the early 1990s, it began to experience a decline in school enrollment, particularly in rural areas. The Mongolian government and the World Bank have been working together to improve the educational system in the country. One of these includes the [Rural Education and Development] (READ) Project, developed in 2006âÂÂ2013. The READ project was intended to improve Mongolia's primary education system and was funded by $5 million from the IDA.
One goal of the READ program is to provide children with better access to books. Prior to 2006, the supply of books in primary schools in Mongolia was scarce. To fix this, READ set up classroom libraries in all rural primary schools of Mongolia. As a result, the use and reading of books increased and the children's overall interest in books grew.
Another part of the READ program was the training of teachers on the proper use of these books which would help to more efficiently integrate the curriculum. Classrooms now aim to have a more interactive set-up. This goes against the traditional set-up of having students sit in parallel rows facing the teacher at the front of the class. The desks are now being positioned so that the students will face each other, and classes are being taught in a way that encourages interaction and the sharing of ideas.
As of 2013, the READ program has accomplished the following:
The objective of this project is to improve the quality of primary education in Mongolia, with an emphasis on the successful development of mathematical and language skills. It has a budget of US$30 million. This project consists of four main components:
This project is funded by the Japan Social Development Fund and managed by the World Bank. It aims to provide education to the most vulnerable children in rural Mongolia, with a particular focus on children aged 6âÂÂ10 and the children of Mongolian nomadic herders. Children from this section of society are significantly less likely to be enrolled in school. This program makes schooling more accessible by providing students with learning kits to be completed at home. There are a total of ten learning kits that consist of books and toys. A child is allowed to take one kit at a time until he or she completes it and goes to the library to receive the next kit. According to a specialist at the World Bank, Tungalag Chuluun, this project "improved childrenâÂÂs access to education and also helped reduce the number of school drop-outs and out-of-school children in the four aimags" (Mongolia 2015).