Poverty in Mongolia

Poverty in Mongolia.
I visited the website http://wwwchildhoodpoverty.org. I decided to study the country of Mongolia.

A friendly reminder of the exact
location of Mongolia. 

(google images 2012)

In 1990, Mongolia went from a socialist country to a multi part democratic state with a liberalized economy. From 1990 to 1997 there was a large shift in the countries' economy. In 1997 Mongolia joined the World Trade Organization. 

The rapid structural adjustment of the economy hit the Mongolian families hard. Unemployment rose and inflation and prices soared. Due to these economic changes cuts in occurred in social service and welfare support.  This shift effected the Mongolia families as there's was a huge gap of people who benefited from the market economy and those who did not. 

The population of Mongolia is 2.4 million. About 32 % of the population live in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. (United Nations Economic Social Council, 2002). According to the Living Strands Measurement Survey  (LSMS) a survey was conducted from the World Bank. According to the LSMS, 35.6% of the population lives in poverty. Of those 39.4% of the urban population, and 32.6% of the rural population are poor.  

In studying children and families living in poverty in Mongolia, CHIP focused on migration, as this is an important strategy of many families, their way of coping with poverty. Families often migrate to urban area. The migrant children are 3 times more likely to be out of school versus children who are long term residents. 11.9 % of the migrant children are out of school while only 3.6% of long-term resident do not attend. Migrant children are also more likely to drop out of school. 8.9% of migrant children where as only 2.2 % of long term urban resident children. CHIP reports the main reason for non-attendance and drop out are urban schools are not accepting migrant children, and the lack of nearby schools and the need to look after the livestock as well as the cost of education. Prior to 2003, migrant children were charged a registration fee to be enrolled in school. Many believe this may have exacerbated and been part of the reason why the rural children did not attend school while living in the city.

High levels of out-migration appear to be linked to reducing educational opportunities for families left behind. Migration, declining population effect and impact school budgets. According to CHIP the declining quality of education means some parents and children believe that caring for livestock is more useful for children (especially boys) then education. (CHIP 2002).


After reading the information provided by CHIP I was searching for information on children who live in Mongolia. I am sharing this photo montage from U-Tube. If you click on the arrow it will load. 

► 3:10► 3:10

I also happened on an article which was I thought I would share as well.

WASHINGTON DC, March 6, 2012 – The World Bank today announced the signing of a grant of US$ 10 million to support early childhood education in Mongolia. The grant, funded by the Global Partnership for Education, will help Mongolia provide access to early childhood education for children in disadvantaged communities.

“Improving access to early childhood education is critical to reducing poverty in Mongolia,”said Klaus Rohland, World Bank Country Director for China and Mongolia. “This initiative will help children develop the cognitive and social skills needed to succeed throughout their education and throughout their lives.”

The project will build 37 kindergartens in urban and peri-urban areas throughout the country and create alternative pre-school classes in mobile ger-kindergartens that follow herders in the summer. It will also improve teaching and learning environments by supplying learning materials, furniture, equipment, and toys, and undertake monitoring and evaluation.

“Every year, about 4,000 additional children will be able to attend kindergarten and 1,500 additional children will participate in the programs organized by mobile ger-kindergartens”said Minister Y. Otgonbayar, Minister of Education, Culture and Science.

International evidence has shown that investing in early childhood education yields the highest economic returns because early learning and the formation of good habits and social skills are far more productive than later, remedial education and training. The internal rates of return of rigorously evaluated early childhood education programs range from 7 percent to 18 percent, which are higher than the rates of return to financial capital.

“Investments in early childhood education are a highly cost-effective strategy to break the inter-generational transmission of poverty and improve productivity in the long run,” saidPrateek Tandon, World Bank Economist and Task Team Leader for the project.

The project was conceived in response to Mongolia’s introduction in 2008 of a 12-year education cycle, expanding its original 10-year cycle to conform to international norms. The expansion has enabled the admission of students at the age of 6 to the first grade. This transition required the government to ensure that every 5-year-old child is ready for school by enrolling them in kindergarten.

Resources:

        Map of Mongolia 2012 Google Images: Retrieved from:ttp://www.google.com/search?q=google+images+result+mongolia

        Poverty Statistics in Mongolia (2002). United Nations Economic and Social Council. Retrieved from: http://www.unescap.org/stat/cos13/cos13_8e.pdf

        Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre Case Studies on Countries Retrieved from:

http://wwwchildhoodpoverty.org

        Mongolian Children's Song Retrieved from:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZyZ8ohaqnc

        The World Bank 2012, (March 6). Mongolian Children in Disadvantage Communities to Receive Better Access to Early Childhood Education. Retrieved from: http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/2012/03/06/mongolian-children-in-disadvantaged-communities-to-receive-better-access-to-early-childhood-education