It is troubling news that private schools without art and sports halls are increasing. According to information provided by the Ministry of Education, during the 2025–2026 academic year, a total of 900 schools of all forms of ownership are operating across Mongolia. However, 137 of them, which means one out of every six schools, do not have their own sports hall, which is a serious and noteworthy indicator. Of these, 65 are state-owned schools and 72 are private schools.

Although this may appear to be just a simple statistic, behind it lies an important issue closely related to education policy, training standards, quality, children’s health, and their physical development. As we know, a school is not limited only to classrooms, desks, chairs, blackboards, and teaching aids. In other words, a school should be the most comfortable environment that supports a child’s physical, intellectual, and social development as a whole. For this reason, art and sports halls are considered one of the fundamental infrastructures of educational institutions.

However, the fact that dozens of schools in Mongolia currently operate without sports halls shows how inadequately the sector’s policy and planning have “developed”.

HALF OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS HAS NO SPORTS HALL

Among the state-owned institutions are also five high schools affiliated with universities. For example, the high schools under the National University of Mongolia and the Mongolian University of Science and Technology, despite charging high tuition fees, do not have their own sports halls. Instead, they rely on using their universities’ sports facilities to conduct physical education classes. This means they were established from the outset without infrastructure that meets the requirements of an independent school. As a result, it turns out that the Ministry of Education granted them special permits even though they did not meet the basic standards of a proper learning environment.

What is even more concerning is the current situation of private schools. Out of the 900 schools in total, 183 are privately owned. Among these, 72 lack art and sports halls—an extremely alarming figure. In other words, nearly one out of every two private schools has no sports hall.

These schools promise parents high-quality education, claim they teach according to international standards, and say they support children’s overall physical development. Yet in reality, they are in such a poor state. Unfortunately, it is disappointing that such “heartless” schools are increasing—schools that raise tuition every year and even expel students immediately if parents raise complaints.

The annual tuition fees of private schools today start at no less than 8.5 million MNT and can reach tens of millions. Even if we set aside the state schools, it is shocking that private schools charging such high fees do not have art or sports halls. Children gain physical development, aesthetic awareness, and character building from these spaces. What should be done with these schools that fail to meet even the most basic requirements of educational services, Minister of Education?

CHILDREN SHOULD EXERCISE AT LEAST 60 MINUTES PER DAY

The general education curriculum includes physical education as a compulsory subject. A child does not develop solely by reading books, filling out tests, and taking exams. As mentioned earlier, doctors and researchers have long emphasized that physical activity, sports games, competitions, and exercise not only support children’s health but also develop discipline, teamwork skills, and psychological balance.

According to recommendations by the World Health Organization, children aged five to 17 should engage in at least 60 minutes of active physical movement every day. However, schools without sports halls are clearly unable to meet this need and requirement.

Schools without gymnasiums conduct physical education classes in hallways or basements. During warm seasons they may use outdoor spaces, but when it gets cold they use rented facilities. However, the ability to rent sports halls varies among schools depending on their resources, so in winter physical education classes are often essentially neglected. Moreover, rented facilities come with many problems regarding time availability, space, and safety.

As a result, physical education classes become low in quality and are frequently cancelled or postponed. The most puzzling question is why schools without sports halls were built and approved for operation in the first place.

There are established standards and clear requirements for building schools and granting permission for them to operate. To conduct educational activities, institutions must meet basic criteria such as having proper school buildings, laboratories, libraries, art and sports halls, and modern sanitation facilities. Yet despite the fact that so many schools without sports halls have been “produced”, no one has been held accountable until now. Strangely, there seems to be no authority willing to address this issue. It is also unclear when schools will finally be required to meet the standard of having sports halls.

Even looking at international practices, sports halls are considered an essential part of a school. In countries such as the United States, Canada, Japan, and Finland, nations recognized worldwide for the quality and strength of their education systems, schools are designed from the outset with indoor and outdoor art and sports halls, fields, and fitness equipment as priorities. The idea of building a school without a sports hall is almost nonexistent outside Mongolia. Special permits would not even be granted.

In Finland, physical education is considered one of the most important elements of children’s growth and development, which can be seen in the multifunctional sports halls found in their general education schools. Physical education classes are not limited to exercise alone but continue through various clubs, extracurricular activities, and local sports and cultural events.

Similarly, in Japan, building regulations and standards require every school to have a gymnasium and various types of sports fields.

SOME DO NOT EVEN HAVE OUTDOOR PLAYGROUNDS

No one is asking schools to build numerous sports halls and fields like those in highly developed countries around the world. At the very least, they should have a single sports hall. Otherwise, tens of thousands of children studying in more than 100 such schools will end up physically stunted. Their growth and development will stop, for goodness’ sake.

We have been talking constantly about the quality of education, students’ academic performance, and evaluations, yet we have neglected the issue of environment and infrastructure like this. Educational inequality is also growing between schools with sports halls and those without, effectively stealing children’s opportunity to develop from the same starting line.

In particular, the fact that private schools, multiplying like mushrooms after rain, do not have art or sports halls raises even more ethical concerns. Anyone with money can establish a private school, and they are opening in every corner of buildings wherever space is available. Among them are quite a few that do not even have their own buildings and instead operate by renting spaces.

It has become common practice for such schools to operate temporarily like this and then eventually acquire buildings using the tuition fees paid by students. From such cunning schools, expecting high-quality education or proper learning environments is probably pointless.

The most important point is that parents do not pay high tuition fees to private schools because they have excess money. Rather, they cut back on their food, clothing, and daily needs in order to provide their children with a better environment and quality education. Yet some of these schools do not even have sports halls—let alone outdoor playgrounds.

Simply exploiting parents’ wishes and demand to run a business like this is an extremely shameless act. Therefore, if parents and guardians have already decided to send their children to private schools, it is important that they conduct thorough research from the beginning, consider the conditions and environment carefully, and make the right choice.

In principle, the Constitution of Mongolia and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly state that every child has the right to receive general education free of charge. Unfortunately, in Mongolia these provisions have not been properly implemented until today. Especially in recent years, because general education has been turned into a business service, the standards and learning environments of both public and private schools have deteriorated and become chaotic.

Education is not a market commodity. It is a service that supports children’s future, health, and development. Therefore, the government must implement the strictest and most effective oversight and regulation.

Essentially, the widespread establishment of schools without sports halls is not merely a flaw in construction. It reflects deeper problems in the unified policy of education, the oversight and licensing systems, and the irresponsibility and short-sightedness of the state.

Therefore, in the future, when building new schools and kindergartens, it should be mandatory to construct art and sports halls and playgrounds. Schools that are already operating should be given a deadline to complete the necessary infrastructure. Otherwise, measures should be taken, including revoking their licenses if necessary.

If the situation continues like this, it will not be long before any cramped room or rented corner of a building starts calling itself a “school”. If children have no space to run and play, then it simply cannot be considered a proper school.