Teachers with tablets bring preschool to Mongolia's nomadic herding children, 700 km from the capital

Four-year-old Buyan lives with his herding family about 700 km from Ulaanbaatar, far from any kindergarten. Twice a month, a teacher comes to his home with a tablet full of preschool activities, UNICEF Mongolia said on 28 October. He is one of more than 14,500 children reached by Teacher with a Tablet, a program UNICEF and Mongolia's Ministry of Education started in 2023.

Distance, weather and moving herds

Herding families in Mongolia move with the seasons, often live far from towns and face harsh weather, which keeps many young children out of kindergarten. Under the program, a teacher from the nearest kindergarten visits families at home, bringing tablets with age-appropriate activities that follow the national preschool curriculum: early reading, numbers, communication and social and emotional skills.

The gap is long-standing. In 2017, the World Bank found that preschool enrollment in rural areas was only 46% among children aged three to almost five, and that herders' children were underrepresented compared with their share of the population, according to a World Bank blog. Kindergartens then covered about 70% of children aged three to five nationally. Mobile ger kindergartens, aimed at herding families whose gers stand 5 to 15 km apart, were the most common alternative.

2,000 km on the road for 15 children

In Senjit bagh, Erdenetsogt soum, in Bayankhongor province, the visiting teacher Hajidsuren works with 15 children this year and worked with 21 last year, visiting each at least twice a month. She has traveled more than 2,000 km to reach them, according to UNICEF.

Parents and siblings take part, turning everyday tasks such as counting household objects or telling stories into lessons. Buyan's mother, Ganaa, signed him up because she was worried about his communication skills and whether he would be ready for school. His father, Ganbaatar, said the family has herded for over 100 years.

“We have learned to turn simple everyday tasks into meaningful learning opportunities for our child.” — Ganaa, Buyan's mother

550 teachers trained so far

Over the past two years, more than 550 teachers have been trained in home-based teaching and tablet-assisted lessons, including how to support parents who read and write at different levels. Families also learn about early learning, nurturing care and non-violent interaction at home, UNICEF said. “I love learning at home with my teacher,” Buyan said.

UNICEF did not publish figures on how much the children's school readiness has improved, or how many herding children still have no access to early learning. It said it will keep working with the government and partners to expand flexible, community-based early learning for nomadic families. “Every child, wherever they live, has the right to learn and reach their full potential,” said Tsendsuren Tumee, education officer at UNICEF Mongolia. More stories on learning are collected under education.