- The Mongolian education system originally focused on Buddhist monasteries, but secular education began after 1911 when China collapsed and Mongolian languages started being used for teaching. - While illiteracy rates were once high, investment in education increased over time, with 20% of the state budget going towards education by 1968. However, nomadic lifestyles make it difficult to educate children. - Mongolian is part of the Altaic language family and has two main sub-languages, Western and Eastern. A unified written Mongolian language was developed in the 19th century, though Chinese numerals are now commonly used.