A dispute has emerged over the quality and procurement process of new first-grade textbooks, with Monsudar Publishing Company alleging irregularities in the tender process and the Ministry of Education defending the selection procedure. At a press conference, Monsudar Director R.Enkhbat claimed that companies linked to senior government officials had been selected to produce the textbooks, while arguing that professional expertise had been disregarded in the procurement process.
He said more than 120 publishing houses are registered in Mongolia and that Monsudar had also participated in the tender to develop and print first-grade textbooks. However, he alleged that companies linked to two Members of Parliament, one of whom currently serves as a minister, were selected. “It is extremely regrettable that tenders are now being announced after everything, including who will be selected, how the selection will be conducted and how much money will be allocated, has seemingly been planned in advance,” R.Enkhbat said. He also questioned the involvement of the Ministry of Education and General Authority for Education Director Kh.Tamir in the selection process.
Monsudar’s lawyer further alleged that intellectual property issues had arisen in the tender for developing, printing and distributing first-grade textbooks. According to the company, pilot textbooks developed in 2024-2025 with 6.7 billion MNT in taxpayer funding had been submitted by participating companies as if they had developed the materials themselves.
The publishing house also raised concerns over the content of the new textbooks, saying they do not adequately correspond with the revised primary education curriculum approved this year. It cited the “I Became a Student” textbook as an example, alleging that it was produced using artificial intelligence and contained errors in its exercises and illustrations. Participants at the press conference also criticised the mathematics textbook, saying some of its content was too difficult for six-year-old children and included topics such as inequalities.
Following this, the Ministry of Education provided its response on October 7. The Director, Kh.Tamir said the tender for the development, printing and distribution of first-grade textbooks was initially announced openly on June 11. Four companies obtained the tender documents and carried out the development work, but when the tender was opened on July 21, none met all the requirements.
According to Kh.Tamir, the tender was re-announced and a new selection was conducted on September 9, resulting in two companies being selected. He said textbook manuscripts are reviewed by four organisations, the National Council for Language, the National Human Rights Commission, the National Committee on Gender Equality and the Students’ Association, which provide recommendations for improving their content. Each recommendation is then considered during the revision process.
Kh.Tamir added that every page of a textbook is reviewed and approved before printing, with professional organisations overseeing the process and content and technical editors working at the printing facilities. He identified the two successful bidders as Munkhiin Useg LLC and Soyombo Press, saying both had previous experience in developing and printing textbooks and had met the requirements specified in the tender documents.
“Experts concluded that the textbooks could be printed. Therefore, they were considered to have met the requirements and are being introduced for use,” he said. The director also highlighted the inclusion of QR codes as a new feature of the textbooks, allowing students to access videos and supplementary materials related to their lessons. Therefore, Kh.Tamir rejected claims circulating online that the “I Became a Student” textbook contained illustrations of a three-legged child, a deel with an incorrectly positioned collar and an Inner Mongolian-style ger. He said no such images or illustrations appear in the textbook.
