If laws, rules, and regulations were fully implemented in Mongolia, there would be fewer violations of human rights, and every industry or field would probably be at a different level than it is today. One of the many laws left only on paper is the Mongolian Language Law. According to the law, which came into effect on July 1, 2015, children should study literature from the first grade, and not a single sign written in a foreign language should be seen on the streets. In 2013, Government Resolution No. 37 on measures to improve Mongolian language and writing education was approved. It has been 11 years since the decree mandated governors at all levels to write the addresses and advertisements of all public and private organizations in Mongolian Cyrillic script. The examination of Mongolian language and writing subjects is carried out without delay from graduates of general education schools, to apply for the universities and colleges. In other words, regardless of the choice of profession, it is mandatory to take the Mongolian language and writing test and if you pass it, you can enter the university.
This year’s examination of Mongolian language and writing was organized on April 6 throughout the country. Nationwide, 33,361 children took the exam and 5,389 failed. In particular, 15-16 percent of all examinees fail to meet the threshold score requirements, according to the Education Evaluation Center. The experts of the center believe that by having a threshold score, the performance scores of the children are improving year by year and the results are coming out. It was pointed out that those who pass the threshold by 27 or 28 points out of the 50 points that should be obtained, and pass with a performance of more than 60 percent, become eligible to enter universities. Also, the students of Bayan-Ulgii Province, which is known as a national minority, used to give blank exam papers, but their vocabulary increased.
The senior specialist in charge of the general entrance examination of the center, D.Enkhjargal said, “We have received feedback from children and parents for five days. Parents of children who were one or two points short of passing the exam applied. Among them, there were quite a few children who scored high in the IELTS and TOEFL tests. Even if you learn English fluently, you will have to express, understand and translate it in your mother tongue. After you can write and compose in Mongolian without mistakes, if you learn English, you can master it perfectly. However, the fact that children learn and speak English weakens the immunity of the mother tongue. Therefore, it needs governmental policy to address these issues. Why can’t students pass the 400 points in their native language exam after learning a foreign language that well?” She then continued, “Children who have won prizes in the national Olympiad in subjects other than English have also failed the Mongolian language and writing tests. There are many parents who bring the certificate of their participation in the national Olympiads and ask them to add one or two points. Points cannot be added. It is a shame that children focus too much on one subject, and neglect their mother tongue education. The fact that subjects are taught separately as main and auxiliary also has an effect”.
When asked about the difficulty of the content of the Mongolian language and writing exam, which is a major obstacle for some children to enter universities, the expert in the field said that it was “easy” because the exam only requires students to write without errors in words, spelling, and grammar, as well as read and translate in the Mongolian traditional script. For example, in the exam, there was a task to write a fictional essay (200-250 words) about “My future life”. There were many students who wrote interestingly about their future life in 20 or 30 years, the profession they wanted and dream of, and the way to contribute to the prosperity of their country. However, children who did not express their thoughts clearly within a certain topic, and who wrote without correct spelling and grammar, failed the exam.
In addition, the tasks related to Mongolian traditional script caused the greatest difficulty in passing the threshold. Specifically, quite a few of the children who failed did not complete the task of translating the 40-50 words in Mongolian traditional script into modern Mongolian. In this regard, D.Enkhjargal said, “In terms of Mongolian language and writing and the general entrance exam, the worst performance is the traditional script task. Although this subject has been taught since the sixth grade, the students do not often use it. Children who passed the threshold of the Mongolian language and writing exam make up 83.2 percent. But 16.8 percent could not acquire Mongolian language and writing skills. About 17 percent of young people do not know their mother tongue”.
Since this test aims to establish language immunity and increase the use of the mother tongue, the Education Evaluation Center has conveyed to the Ministry of Education and Science that they intend to hold the Mongolian language test regularly in the future. However, the Ministry is talking about integrating mathematics and Mongolian language subjects into the learning ability test from 2026. Moreover, they believe that if the Mongolian language and writing tests are organized separately or in connection with history lessons, Mongolians will become citizens who know their mother tongue and history. Next July, graduates will take the general entrance exam and choose their profession. The highest number of students taking the exam each year are mathematics, English and social studies. The number of children taking the general entrance exam is an indication of their active learning and preference for English over Mongolian. In other words, there were always more students who took the exam in English than in Mongolian.
With the development of technology, there are many teachers who believe that the fact that people communicate with each other by abbreviating words and writing in Latin letters undermines the norms of spelling and native language. Mongolian language and writing teacher U.Suvdansondor from school no. 4 in Mandal soum of Selenge Province said, “It is right to take the Mongolian language and writing test for every child who takes the general entrance exam. It is unlikely that students who cannot write, read, understand and compose in their mother tongue will be successful in other subjects. If they don’t read, there won’t be thinking or brainstorming. This language and writing test is a measure to determine whether the child can study in universities or not. I use the game method to teach my lessons. For example, characters such as teeth and shins of the national script are connected to their tissues and organs, and the letters are spelled using body movements. If you can arouse interest in children without boring them with constant copying and writing, they will fall in love with the subject and want to learn. The teacher should give clear directions for the ability to compose and write. If you just give a title and leave it, they obviously will write general things”.
In terms of the number of examinees who scored higher than 400 and passed the Mongolian language and writing test, Khuvsgul Province was in first place, while Bayan-Ulgii Province was in last. In Bayan-Ulgii, 432 children scored less than 400 points, which made them less successful. As for the province, Mongolian is a secondary language, so it can be seen as “allright”. However, it is worth noting that the law on the Mongolian language stipulates that Article 13.1.5 says that “Ministry of Education and Science has responsibilities to organize learning in Mongolian Language and mother tongue language of minorities and to create conditions to inherit of their culture and customs and to conduct scientific activities”.
After the examination, the Department of Education and Science of Zavkhan Province instructed the school administration to take measures for the Mongolian language teachers. Because Zavkhan Province’s children scored poorly compared to last year, which made the leaders “displeased”. According to the Education Evaluation Center, problems related to teachers’ salaries arise when the exam results are announced. They also point out that it is not only the teacher’s fault that students fail. Children have been learning their mother tongue for 12 years, starting from the age of six. However, the fact that thousands of children fail the exams in their mother tongue every year shows that there is a need to pay attention to the quality of Mongolian language education. In this way, from next January, it seems that there will be considerable difficulties in implementing the law that state and local self-governing organizations will conduct their official affairs in both cyrillic and the Mongolian traditional script.
