215According to the 2014 statistics from the Ministry of Education, Culture, and
Science (MECS), 103,650 students were studying in 16 state-owned HEIs, 74,233
students were in 80 private HEIs, and 412 students were studying in branch colleges
of foreign HEIs. The management of private and international joint universities has
received relatively less attention than state-owned HEIs within the higher education
research areas.
Higher education has been very sensitive to market demand, as it is believed that
Mongolia’s competitiveness will improve if it produces qualified professional and
technical human resources to meet the needs of the economy and improves the
equity of access and the level of efficiency of public resources use.
Data from the Living Standard Measurement Study undertaken by the World
Bank show that mining is the fastest-growing sector; in the 25–34 years age group,
employment in this industry increased by 671% between 1998 and 2007. It is fol-
lowed by the construction sector, in which the growth rate was 368%, and then
transport and communication, with 110% growth in this age group, during the same
period. This suggests that the labor market has potential absorptive capacity for the
younger population, and it demands technical, vocational, and engineering skills
(WB 2010 ). In comparison, the distribution of students in HEIs between 2007 and
2014 shows that the percentage of those studying in the engineering, manufacturing,
and construction fields continuously increased from 15.9 to 18.6% and in health and
welfare from 8.2 to 11.6% (Fig. 12.2). According to the health statistics of the
Ministry of Health and Sport, almost 80% of health facilities were state-owned in
1995, but this dramatically changed during the transition period, such that 68.3% of
health facilities belonged to the private sector by the end of 2013 (Ministry of Health
and Sport 2014 ). Consequently, there is a need for highly skilled health profession-
als to address market competition in healthcare and service delivery. Tuul ( 2010 )
10.6 13.3 12. 79.6 8.6 7.110 9.1 729.7 26.7
26.23.6 3.4
4.63.1 3.6
2.815.9 17.1- 6
2.9 2.8 2.98.29.8 11. 66.4 5.6 6.50102030405060708090100
2007 2010 2014Services
Health and welfare
Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary
Engineering, manufacturing and construction
Information and communication technology
Natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
Business, administration and law
Social sciences, journalism and information
Arts and humanities
EducationFig. 12.2 Distribution of students in higher education institutions by the International Standard
Classification of Education (ISCED), 2013 (Source: MECS 2015; http://www.meds.gov.mn/
highereducation)
12 Higher Education Research in Mongolia During the Transition Period...