We are in the edge of the new century, which is offering us a belief and trust in development and prosperity.

Nine years ago, from now, in the World Conference conducted in Jomtien, Thailand, the world declaration "Education For All" was approved. The goal was to provide education for all, using both the values that have been accumulated throughout the history of human development and achievements gained in education sectors in many countries of the world.

The Declaration from the Jomtien Conference was evidence of efforts from UN and international organizations and the countries in the world on the implementation of "Human Rights Common Declaration", which implies social, economic and cultural rights along with civil and political ones. It also included a "Children Rights Convention", which refers to the children’s rights to live healthy lives, to develop and to be protected. It also emphasized the importance of provision of the "basic learning requirements" for children, ways to reach to it, and its quality as well. The Declaration has made a change in the general tendency of the world towards education.

Today, the "Education For All – Assessment 2000" activity is being conducted in many countries with support from UNDP, UNESCO, The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), The United Nations Population Fund and The World Bank, in order to implement the goals and objectives of the "Education for all" World Declaration; assess the outcomes of world efforts on provision of rights to everybody for education, giving priorities to children and youngsters; strengthen the efforts and activities; and identify education strategies and goals for the new century.

The "Education for All – Assessment 2000" has been successfully organized in Mongolia with a great deal of participation and support from all levels of education institutions, ranging from the school – the basic education organization, to public administrative authorities, including non-governmental organizations, media and United Nations organizations. In the frame of the activity, the most realistic evaluation and assessment were given to the activities planned and executed in order to implement the Jomtien Declaration, and next strategies were determined.

The action for the Education for All assessment was not limited by merely writing the National Report. It was a motivation to draw government and community attention to the provision of basic learning for all, to intensify activities, and to make each aimag prepare a local report, which adds assessment to their own activities and determines goals and objectives for the future.

National and local reports on implementation of the goal and objectives of the "Education for all" Declaration were provided, which have been executed in accordance with the guidance by project officials of "Education for all – Assessment 2000" in UNESCO.

The "Education for All – Assessment 2000" National Report implies basic issues in pre-school children’s development, primary and secondary education, adults’ education and it also addresses the difficulties and problems the sector faced during the transition period, with some results and positive outcomes and future objectives as well.

There is no doubt that the National Report is to be one of the main sources for our country to determine new policies and strategies, and make decisions for the new century. It is hoped that the Report will make a contribution to determination of the world strategies in Education for All for the 21^st Century.

Thank you for all support and promotion from international organizations, which made the "Education for all – Assessment 2000" possible in Mongolia, and everybody who participated in the activity.

National Coordinator for EFA Assessment 2000

D. Munkhjargal

INTRODUCTION

The assessment activities of the "Education for All-2000" had began in December 1998. The national working group for organizing the assessment activities of the "Education for All-2000" was established in December, 1998 and headed by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Education and Culture. This working group included the representatives of policy-makers, officers of the public administration sector and was financed by the UNDP Local office, UNICEF Representative, UNFPA, Mongolian National Commission for UNESCO and other representatives of the non-governmental organizations. From the assessment working group the planning of the assessment implementation activities in Mongolia were worked out and "Education for All-Assessment-2000" was adopted through organizing a meeting of the representatives of financing supporting organizations, governmental and non-governmental institutions. During this meeting three sub-groups were organized: report and dissemination; training and research; and information database assessment. In January 1999, local commissions on assessment activities were established within the local Governors administration.

"Education for All-Assessment-2000" is implemented by the following steps:

• The dissemination of views of education for all and promotion of its activity
• The promotion of training and researching (to train the members of the local commissions to organize the assessment work, collect an information database and monitor)
• The collection of information (to collect relevant information, to monitor and evaluate the information and to finally work out the information’s by technical indicators suggested by UNESCO)

The development and discussion of the National assessment report (to evaluate and monitor the local information and reports, to discuss and finalize the draft of the national report by the national working group, participation in the assessment work by other interested groups, in developing the technical indicators from UNESCO)

• Expansion of early childhood care and developmental activities, including family and community interventions, especially for poor, disadvantaged and disabled children.
• Universal access to, and completion of, primary/basic education by the year 2000.
• Improvement of learning achievement such that an agreed percentage of an appropriate age cohort (for example, 80 per cent of 14 year-olds) attains or surpasses a defined level of necessary learning achievement.
• Reduction of the adult illiteracy rate (the appropriate age-group to be determined in each country) to, say, one-half its 1990 level by the year 2000, with sufficient emphasis on female literacy to significantly reduce the current disparity between male and female illiteracy rates.
• Expansion of provisions of basic education and training in other essential skills required by youth and adults, with program effectiveness assessed in terms of behavioral changes and impact on health, employment and productivity.
• Increased acquisition by individuals and families of the knowledge, skills and values required for better living and sound and sustainable development, made available through all education channels including the mass media, other forms of modern and traditional communication and social action, with effectiveness assessed in terms of behavioral change.

This report is deals with nine years ( of changes and reforms) since 1990 in pre-school education, primary and adults education, including:

• Policy and legal environment, strategy, action program, organizational structure
• Geography differences, national specific circumstances and relationship between social and economic environment
• The quality and accessibility of educational services
• Financial environment of the education
• Formation of human resource and development of teaching personnel
• Cooperation and partnership
• Basic further goals and purposes.