Educational desert or oasis? An educator's trek to Outer Mongolia

Mongolia has long been associated with isolation from the western world. Sandwiched between Russia on the north and China on the south, it is little known and little understood. Now split into two separate nations, Inner Mongolia is under the control of Red China, and Outer Mongolia under the control of Russia. Outer Mongolia has a population of 1.3 million and is about one-fifth the size of the United States. Education follows the Russian (communist) model and, of course, has a Five-Year Plan. Since World War II the literacy rate has jumped to 90%, and has received recognition by UNESCO for its efforts. Mongolian schools are on a two-track system, one for those going into trades or agriculture, and the other for those going on to higher education and the professions. Considering the Mongolian economic structure, its geography, and the nature of its people, it can be said that they have done a good job of educating their people.