People are a nation’s most precious resource
The most precious resource of any country is not the mineral wealth beneath the earth, the vast size of its lands or a strong military force, but rather its people. After all, what is a nation but a collection of individuals? The quality of the individuals, the people, will determine the rate of a nation’s development and prosperity.
In economic terms, the quality of a person or a labour force is defined by its degree of productivity. In modern times, the level of a person’s productivity is largely dependent on one’s intellectual capacity and creative faculty rather than one’s physical attributes.
Creativity and intelligence are the source of innovation and technology. They sparked the flames of the industrial revolution and in turn raised the living standards of the masses higher than any other change in the history of our planet.
The logical question to ask is how we can improve the intellect and creativity of people. The answer is simple, education.
Before the communist reforms, Mongolian traditional education was largely religious and esoteric in nature. Mongolian people have always valued education and have customarily made it their priority to educate their children. The traditional folk stories and tales often have nuggets of conventional wisdom and the philosophies incorporated into the plots offer the subliminal suggestion that wisdom and knowledge are more valuable than material wealth and physical strength.
Today, education in Mongolia is overseen by the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science. In 2011, a volunteer organization, VSO Mongolia, published a report on the Mongolian Education Sector that examined the progress, challenges, and future priorities for education in terms the current socio-economic changes in Mongolia. The report argued that the Mongolian government has made an immense effort to develop the education sector at all levels, with an admirable openness and willingness to progress towards its further development. And the report showed that the high level of economic growth experienced in recent years offered numerous opportunities, as this growth has brought more resources into the education sector. But the report also indicated that the increasing disparity between rich and poor could leave many Mongolians marginalised when it comes to benefitting from education. The report further noted that an overwhelming majority of people interviewed about education gave a negative response when asked about the performance of the sector at present; particularly in terms of the quality of education (68%), the inclusiveness of the system for disadvantaged groups (76%), and access to education (83%).
Higher education in Mongolia began with the communist revolution in the early 20th Century and was based on the Soviet model. Since then, the higher education system has seen significant growth. There are currently around 200 higher education institutes in Mongolia, the most prominent of which are the National University of Mongolia in Ulaanbaatar, founded in 1942 as the Choibalsan University; and the Mongolian University of Science and Technology, founded in 1950 to train industrial workers. The quality of education in privately owned institutions is generally perceived as inferior.
While many students are now graduating from higher education institutes, the sad fact is that the diplomas acquired through years of hard work are not able to secure them jobs, particularly not the well-paid kind.
This lack of employment for graduates is surprising given the recent growth in business in Mongolia. Thanks to the inflow of foreign investment due to Mongolia’s mineral wealth, foreign and domestic businesses have been flourishing in the country. These businesses need a skilled workforce. Unfortunately the graduates of domestic institutes are outcompeted by foreign experts and the graduates of foreign institutes. Businesses in Mongolia say they cannot find skilled workers here so look for experts abroad. This motivates many young Mongolians to go abroad to study. But this may not be a good solution in the long term.
A recent report by M.A.D. Investments titled Mongolia Macro State noted that “If intelligent young Mongolians, which are the most precious resource of the country, are forced to go abroad to obtain a good education, it not only means that precious capital is leaving the country but, most importantly, that Mongolia will suffer from a considerable brain-drain that is unlikely to return any time soon, unless truly exceptional opportunities exist back home, which is not probable unless the Mongolian environment out-performs others by a strong margin.”
The report further noted that “Since the collapse of the Soviet educational system, which was excellent in many respects, Mongolia has done too little too late to promote its educational system. Stories abound of kids sharing desks, textbooks, and pens in freezing classrooms, with fewer and fewer qualified teachers every year. It is distressing to hear that instead of investing in facilities and teachers, the government prefers handing out 70,000 MNT per month to every child and student in the country, which costs the government over 5 Million USD per month, money that, more often than not, ends up in the hands of the parents or is wasted on alcohol and cigarettes or both.”
Although great progress has been made by the government to improve education in this country, some policies, such as cash hand-outs to students aren’t contributing to the improvement of education quality. More attention should be given to the educational sector, especially to higher education and professional training, as Mongolia is in great need of a capable work force to efficiently make use of the vast, but limited, mineral resources sector.
Mongolia has the advantage of learning from other countries that have made great progress in short periods through providing a good basic education to their citizens and training highly skilled workers, such as Singapore and Japan. If greater attention is given to investing in people, there is no doubt that this would open the way to a more sustainable and lasting road to prosperity than simply investing in mining resources.
Short URL: http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn/?p=2897
In economic terms, the quality of a person or a labour force is defined by its degree of productivity. In modern times, the level of a person’s productivity is largely dependent on one’s intellectual capacity and creative faculty rather than one’s physical attributes.
Creativity and intelligence are the source of innovation and technology. They sparked the flames of the industrial revolution and in turn raised the living standards of the masses higher than any other change in the history of our planet.
The logical question to ask is how we can improve the intellect and creativity of people. The answer is simple, education.
Before the communist reforms, Mongolian traditional education was largely religious and esoteric in nature. Mongolian people have always valued education and have customarily made it their priority to educate their children. The traditional folk stories and tales often have nuggets of conventional wisdom and the philosophies incorporated into the plots offer the subliminal suggestion that wisdom and knowledge are more valuable than material wealth and physical strength.
Today, education in Mongolia is overseen by the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science. In 2011, a volunteer organization, VSO Mongolia, published a report on the Mongolian Education Sector that examined the progress, challenges, and future priorities for education in terms the current socio-economic changes in Mongolia. The report argued that the Mongolian government has made an immense effort to develop the education sector at all levels, with an admirable openness and willingness to progress towards its further development. And the report showed that the high level of economic growth experienced in recent years offered numerous opportunities, as this growth has brought more resources into the education sector. But the report also indicated that the increasing disparity between rich and poor could leave many Mongolians marginalised when it comes to benefitting from education. The report further noted that an overwhelming majority of people interviewed about education gave a negative response when asked about the performance of the sector at present; particularly in terms of the quality of education (68%), the inclusiveness of the system for disadvantaged groups (76%), and access to education (83%).
Higher education in Mongolia began with the communist revolution in the early 20th Century and was based on the Soviet model. Since then, the higher education system has seen significant growth. There are currently around 200 higher education institutes in Mongolia, the most prominent of which are the National University of Mongolia in Ulaanbaatar, founded in 1942 as the Choibalsan University; and the Mongolian University of Science and Technology, founded in 1950 to train industrial workers. The quality of education in privately owned institutions is generally perceived as inferior.
While many students are now graduating from higher education institutes, the sad fact is that the diplomas acquired through years of hard work are not able to secure them jobs, particularly not the well-paid kind.
This lack of employment for graduates is surprising given the recent growth in business in Mongolia. Thanks to the inflow of foreign investment due to Mongolia’s mineral wealth, foreign and domestic businesses have been flourishing in the country. These businesses need a skilled workforce. Unfortunately the graduates of domestic institutes are outcompeted by foreign experts and the graduates of foreign institutes. Businesses in Mongolia say they cannot find skilled workers here so look for experts abroad. This motivates many young Mongolians to go abroad to study. But this may not be a good solution in the long term.
A recent report by M.A.D. Investments titled Mongolia Macro State noted that “If intelligent young Mongolians, which are the most precious resource of the country, are forced to go abroad to obtain a good education, it not only means that precious capital is leaving the country but, most importantly, that Mongolia will suffer from a considerable brain-drain that is unlikely to return any time soon, unless truly exceptional opportunities exist back home, which is not probable unless the Mongolian environment out-performs others by a strong margin.”
The report further noted that “Since the collapse of the Soviet educational system, which was excellent in many respects, Mongolia has done too little too late to promote its educational system. Stories abound of kids sharing desks, textbooks, and pens in freezing classrooms, with fewer and fewer qualified teachers every year. It is distressing to hear that instead of investing in facilities and teachers, the government prefers handing out 70,000 MNT per month to every child and student in the country, which costs the government over 5 Million USD per month, money that, more often than not, ends up in the hands of the parents or is wasted on alcohol and cigarettes or both.”
Although great progress has been made by the government to improve education in this country, some policies, such as cash hand-outs to students aren’t contributing to the improvement of education quality. More attention should be given to the educational sector, especially to higher education and professional training, as Mongolia is in great need of a capable work force to efficiently make use of the vast, but limited, mineral resources sector.
Mongolia has the advantage of learning from other countries that have made great progress in short periods through providing a good basic education to their citizens and training highly skilled workers, such as Singapore and Japan. If greater attention is given to investing in people, there is no doubt that this would open the way to a more sustainable and lasting road to prosperity than simply investing in mining resources.
Short URL: http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn/?p=2897
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