AKIPRESS.COM - The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of Mongolia granted up to 6 million togrog (around US$3,039) to 450 projects developed by general education school students from 21 provinces and Ulaanbaatar. The grants amounted to 2.6 billion togrog ($1.3 million) in total, according to The UB Post.

The 450 projects from 427 schools, involving 500,000 students and teachers, were chosen from a project competition among students to promote their school program, which was organized by the Ministry through the Education Quality Reform Project.

During the award ceremony, Minister of Education, Culture and Science Luvsannyam Gantumur said: “In this time where the core program is in progress, I’m confident that developing and implementing innovative projects that meet the school’s needs develops well-rounded students, improves cooperation between teachers and students, and contributes to the independence of general education schools.”

The grant program will be implemented in three stages with inclusion of state owned general education schools. In the first stage in January, projects of 200 schools were chosen and they are already being implemented. In the second stage, projects of 427 schools were chosen to receive the grants.

The Education Ministry initiated the Education Quality Reform Project in 2012 to improve elementary education quality and to promote the core education programs by strengthening the Mongolian language, natural sciences, and mathematics education quality. The Education Quality Reform Project is funded through a 60-billion-togrog soft loan from the World Bank’s International Development Association.