In schools across Mongolia, whatever happens in the classroom is the sole responsibility of the school staff, and parents rarely get involved. But this is starting to change. Recently established Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA) are making clear the benefits of closer collaboration in schools, thus helping to change that culture.
The first PTAs in Mongolia were created in 2016, as part of the World Bank-financed Transparency and Accountability in Mongolian Education (TAME) Project . It focused on 31 rural schools covering 20 soums (rural districts) and 8 remote provinces in Western and Central Mongolia.
“The ultimate goal of PTAs is to improve children’s learning and education quality through social accountability mechanisms,” explained Kh. Naranjargal, Head of Globe International Center NGO, which implemented the project. “We focused on fostering closer relations between parents and teachers because they have critical influence on children’s development,” she added.
Over 1,200 parents and teachers in those schools have been trained on various social accountability tools over the course of four years. School budget monitoring, procurement and better understanding of their children’s learning environments are some of the most popular topics among parents and teachers.
“Before, we thought that parents need to take care of children’s life outside school. What happened at school concerned the school director and its administration,” said Kh. Saranchimeg, a parent and coordinator of the Murun soum PTA, in Khuvsgul province.