Basic Education System
The Mongolian education system was imported from Soviet in 1940, which started from the founding of the National University of Mongolia in 1942 and Mongolian National Defense University in 1921. At this time Soviet used the Russian traditional education system which is not divided into undergraduate and graduate degrees. This model of university has a single-stage which usually takes five to six-year duration, resulting in a specialist diploma. This diploma was equal to MSc/MA degrees in Western. Scientists and researchers analyzed Russian education system made by many models including the Humboldt, Napoleon and many other foreign systems. At this time Mongolian higher education system was the same as Soviet. All universities of Mongolia have a four to five years program until 1990. In 1990 the Mongolian Education system was changed to the Anglo American model and it changed to the Bologna model from the early 2000s. In 2007 the Minister of Education, Culture, and Science of Mongolia resolved Order No 405 about the secondary education system for 12 years. By this order first graduation with 12th grade in the spring of 2015 successfully. Since then, Mongolia has officially used the Bologna model from the Anglo American model. In 2004, the Government of Mongolia implemented a change from a 10-year school system to an 11-year school system. Instead of starting school at the age of eight, students began school at seven. The 11-year education system consisted of five years of primary education, four years of lower secondary education, and two years of upper secondary education. From the 2008/2009 school year, the Mongolian Parliament again made an amendment to the Education Law, changing the 11-year school system to a 12-year school system. This transition will be complete by 2016. Students enter the 1st grade of secondary school at their 6-year-old. By the system students usually graduate from their secondary school at their 18-year-old. Students have a chance to make the decision to continue to study at the upper secondary education of Technical and Vocational Education after their lower secondary education’ graduation.