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Education of Kazakh Children: a Situation Analysis Save the Children UK, 2006

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Education of Kazakh Children: a Situation Analysis Save the Children UK, 2006 Report Summary: Education of Kazakh Children Education of Kazakh children: A situation analysis Save the Children UK, 2006 This report suggests that in many important ways Kazakh children are not being afforded the same opportunities to learn as other children in Mongolia. In addition to the barriers shared to some extent by children in other poor and rural areas, the language of teaching and learning for Kazakh children is compounding their disadvantage. The particularly low preschool participation rates in Bayan-Olgii aimag and the lack of either Kazakh language preschool materials or Mongolian as a second language instructional strategies mean Kazakh children start school lagging behind in language and literacy skills and may not gain a sound footing in either Mongolian or Kazakh. Kazakh children and learning The study methodology Kazakhs comprise the largest minority group This study was mainly qualitative recognising and one with the greatest cultural and linguistic limited available demographic and educational distinction from the Mongolian majority. data disaggregated by ethnic group in Mongolia. Research focused on field sites of Bayan-Olgii Many barriers to access and learning are not aimag, Hovd soum in Hovd aimag and Nalaih unique to Kazakh children but are common district of Ulaanbaatar where Kazakhs are the for all Mongolian children. These barriers majority or are part of a mixed community. result from systemic weaknesses in education Further data was gathered through document delivery caused by the poor condition or lack review, semi-structured interviews and of facilities, lack of clear and rights focused meetings with children and parents, officials legislative and policy basis, lack of learning of Government ministries and other relevant materials, poor quality teaching and learning national and international organisations, environments, the high formal and informal agencies and donors. costs associated with schooling, poverty and low standard of living of families. A widening The research had the objective of producing disparity between rural and urban education is an in depth analysis of the education situation also evident. These barriers are compounded of Kazakh children including investigating the for ethnic minority Kazakh children who are causes of the high drop out rates in the Bayan highly represented in the out of school groups Olgii aimag, identifying the factors adversely and who additionally face the significant affecting the education of Kazakh children and challenge of language. recommending actions. Recognising this issue, with the financial support of the Canada Fund, Save the Children UK, Mongolia commissioned this education situation An aimag is a province in Mongolia, the main analysis of Kazakh children to guide and inform town of each is the aimag centre, districts within that are strategy in supporting Kazakh children’s rights called soum, and smaller administrative units are called to education and development. bagh. Cities are divided administratively into units called khoroo. Report Summary: Education of Kazakh Children General picture of situation for have even higher illiteracy rates of 8.4 and 9.8%, Kazakhs in Mongolia respectively. Another feature of note is that A picture of the population while enrolment and literacy rates in Mongolia tend to favour females, Kazakh females are less literate than their male counterparts. (2000 Kazakhs are the largest ethnic group in Census) Mongolia and make up 4.4% of the population as a whole and account for 5% of all children Higher dropouts aged 0-4. In addition to lower literacy rates, the overall school dropout rate in Bayan-Olgii is 6.2% Bayan-Olgii aimag has a poverty rate of 46% compared to .9% nationally. While Kazakhs compared to 36% nationally, with over half account for about 5% of the child population of the poor being classified as extremely poor. in Mongolia and 4% of the total student (Census 2000) population at the beginning of 2003-2004 school year, Bayan-Olgii’s share of dropouts Kazakhs mainly live in the far West. Bayan- reported for the same year is 3-6% according Olgii at a population of 99,2, is almost to different sources. entirely Kazakh. Kazakhs also comprise over 0% of the population in neighbouring Hovd, Greater delayed entry living primarily in the aimag centre, Hovd Delayed entry to school, a factor in higher soum where they are a dominant majority, dropouts and lower achievement, is also in Buyant soum where they comprise about highest in the Western and Khangai regions, one-third of the population, and as a smaller with over 6% of new intakes age 9 or over in minority in other soums. In the peri-urban area 2000. The transition to an -year system in around Ulaanbaatar, the Kazakh community 2005-2006 included the change to age seven as is concentrated in Nalaikh District, in khoroo the official age to start school. In 2004-2005 #4 which is 90% Kazakh. It is a mining in Hovd aimag, 45% of children starting grade community from the 930s and 40s which one were age 7 or younger. Yet in Bayan-Olgii originally attracted migrants from Bayan-Olgii in 2005/2006 school year, after enactment of to work the mines. While Khoroo #4 residents the policy only about one-quarter of children make up only 9% of the population in Nalaih starting grade one were aged 7 and start as late District, they are overrepresented among the as 9 – 0 years old. district’s poor families at 37%. Lower preschool participation Context of education participation and Bayan-Olgii has one of the lowest formal performance kindergarten enrolment rates in the country, at less than 20% compared to 33% nationally. Bayan-Olgii performs poorly on basic indicators of education access and efficiency. Children Hovd aimag reported that it does not in this aimag drop out at over three times the disaggregate preschool participation data national rate—the highest dropout rate in the by ethnicity. The research found that while country—and they attend formal preschool at formal kindergarten enrolment for the aimag less than two-thirds of the national average— overall is 25%, in Hovd soum it hovers between the lowest preschool participation rate in the 9-3% depending on seasonal fluctuation due country. to the livestock cycle. Although the aimag reports that most of its kindergartens cannot Lower literacy meet the demand for preschool, Hovd soum’s While the Khalkh or Mongolian majority over Kazakh kindergarten and the kindergarten age 7 has an average illiteracy rate of 4.6%, for serving the Kazakh micro-district are both Kazakhs it is significantly higher at 6.8%. Two under enrolled. Buyant soum in Hovd likewise other ethnic groups the Darkhad and Khoton Report Summary: Education of Kazakh Children reported anecdotally that while the soum was schools were first established in the aimag. meeting success in its focus to boost preschool More than one central level source affirmed enrolment to increase school readiness, that Mongolian was the primary language in Kazakhs are underrepresented. schools and society until the transition period, during which the 992 Constitution granted Policy formulation fails to target the right of minorities to be educated in their Kazakh children native languages. Education authorities in Bayan-Olgii explained that Kazakh schools have actually been in place since the 940s, There is a lack of education policies targeted although in 978 the central government toward Kazakh children, especially a clear issued a resolution asserting Mongolian as the policy on mother tongue and bilingual language official language. The 992 Constitution and approach. This is primarily due to a lack of 995 Education Law consolidated the legal consciousness at the central level about issues framework for Kazakh instruction, but did of ethnicity and the condition or needs of ethnic not change existing practice in Bayan-Olgii. minorities in general or Kazakhs in particular. However, the assistance Bayan-Olgii received The translation of textbooks under the new from Kazakhstan in the form of textbook education standards into Kazakh, which began support ended as did the local presence of last year, is the only action directly recognising central level agencies such as the Institute a special learning need. of Education, so the urgency of the need for Lack of central level agreement on the problem educational supports has increased. The lack of political tension or conflict among Stereotypes of Kazakhs help to rationalise their different ethnicities has caused a complacent isolation and condition attitude by the majority toward the rights of All ethnic groups are granted full citizenship ethnic minorities. Furthermore, a combination under the Constitution and there is no of poor understanding of local conditions, evidence of institutional discrimination against negative stereotypes of Kazakhs and a narrow any ethnic groups. However, in the course view of egalitarianism contributes to the or the research certain negative attitudes and reluctance to examine the rather complex stereotypes surfaced. Prominent among these question of whether Kazakh children’s rights is the view that Kazakh isolation in Bayan-Olgii to education and learning are being adequately and their tradition not to intermarry with other met. groups explains the faulty assumption that Poor understanding of local situation and Kazakhs have no desire to learn Mongolian or needs mix with Mongolians. In fact, in mixed Bayan- There are only a few groups in Mongolia, Olgii soums that have Mongolian classes,
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