Amid Mongolia’s heated political turmoil, the long-standing issue of teachers’ and doctors’ salaries remains unresolved, simmering beneath the surface.

• In September, the Mongolian Teachers’ Union demanded that teachers’ monthly salaries be raised to ₮3.5 million, organizing protests and launching a nationwide strike starting today.

📌 Unexpected Move

On Monday evening, the Prime Minister announced a principled decision to increase salaries, teachers’ pay by 15%–20%, doctors’ by 10%–15%, and pensions by 8%, by cutting non-essential government expenditures.

• 🧐 Behind the Decision: According to the latest Cabinet meeting, the government will allocate ₮831 billion to finance these raises by reducing public spending by 10%, excluding child benefits and debt repayments. The cuts will affect all state operations, programs, and projects.
• 🔺 Will Inflation Rise? The Finance Minister noted that without expenditure cuts, wage and pension increases could raise inflation by 1.5%–2%. However, with offsetting budget reductions, the government expects no major inflationary impact.

🔻 A Persistent Wage Gap

A decade ago, in 2015, the average salary in the education sector was ₮732,200, or 14% lower than the national average. By the third quarter of 2023, this gap had widened to ₮543,900, meaning teachers now earn 27.1% less than the national average.

In the end… At the root of nearly every national issue lies education. Despite repeated reforms, Mongolia’s education system continues to struggle with quality and accessibility. While the government has launched initiatives such as a national e-school program, what’s needed now is not another temporary fix, but a fundamental solution that addresses the problem at its core.