“Development Guide” Center: Inspiring Growth
Telmen is a remote soum located in Zavkhan province, 120 kilometers from the provincial capital and over 880 kilometers from Ulaanbaatar. With a population of 2,879 and 859 households, it is the largest soum in the province. Telmen is home to one general secondary school, which serves 529 students and employs 59 teachers and staff.
As part of Save the Children’s “Entrepreneurship-Focused Socio-Emotional Skills for the Most Vulnerable Youth in Rural Mongolia” project, a competition was launched for schools in targeted soums across five provinces to implement a “School-Based Enterprise” initiative. Schools from six soums in Zavkhan province submitted project proposals, and among them, the proposal from Telmen soum secondary school to establish the “Development Guide” Center a dedicated e-learning hub for children and youth was selected. This project received a funding award of 103.9 million MNT.
The e-center received and installed its equipment in mid-November 2022, officially launching its operations in March 2023. Since then, the center has provided students, teachers, and school staff with the opportunity to enhance their computer skills, explore new software programs, and integrate digital technology into their teaching and learning activities.
The activities of the School-Based Enterprise are closely integrated with the general secondary school curriculum, covering subjects such as foreign languages, information technology, and Mongolian language. Students have access to computers with internet connectivity, enabling them to complete homework and assignments. This provides a significant advantage, particularly for those in remote soums.
The school has fully equipped a classroom in Building B for this project. Since the new school opened this year, the “Development Guide” Center is the only initiative currently operating in the building, which has since been designated as the School-Based Enterprise (SBE) building.
Since the launch of the project, the “Development Guide” Center has generated over 2.5 million MNT in revenue by offering key services such as photo services, certificate layout and design, basic computer skills training, video recording, and the production of video ads. More than 250 residents of the soum comprising 375 students and 56 teachers have benefited from these services.
Students engage in various clubs based on their interests, including the Youth Reporter, Free Platform Debate Club, and Art Studio Photography Club. Through these activities, they gain a wide range of skills, such as managing their free time more effectively, news writing, video and production, and poster design.
Making a profit is not the only goal of this center. Formal IT lessons are organized according to schedules for 13 groups of 259 students, ranging from grades 6 to 12, with the aim of enhancing the technological skills of both students and teachers one of the core objectives of the project. Learning in a classroom equipped with fast, modern computers and smart screens motivates both students and teachers to expand their knowledge and skills.
The “Development Guide” Center hosts the Eduten mathematics program for 98 students in grades 3 and 4, as well as the PEARSON English language program for 147 students.
Over the past year, 120 children and youth have successfully participated in the training offered in the SBE classroom. A total of 175 hours of basic training have been organized, making a significant contribution to the education and development of local children and youth.
“We are deeply grateful to Save the Children for providing us with the latest drones and smart boards. We are committed to using these tools in the most effective and productive ways possible. Of course, we will handle these devices with care, and many students and teachers will benefit from this equipment for years to come,” said both students and teachers.
Some physics, chemistry, and geography classes are planned to be held in this classroom, utilizing smart screens, high-speed internet, and computers. Teachers have already developed and tested the content for upcoming sessions and are preparing to teach specific topics in this classroom for the 2024-2025 fall semester. They have noted that if all classrooms were equipped with smart boards like these, they would be able to create lesson content and lead training sessions in a more engaging and creative way.
The foundation of development lies in systematic knowledge, while the bridge to applying that knowledge and achieving tangible results is an individual’s soft skills and attitude.
G.Enkhkhuslen, a student at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics in Hungary and a graduate of Telmen School shared, “Although I was educated in a rural soum, everything I learned from attending the ‘Entrepreneurship-Based Personal Skills Development’ ESEL course, receiving a subgrant, testing and implementing my business ideas helped me get accepted into one of the world’s top universities. Investment in education is, without a doubt, the cornerstone of our country’s development.”