Review of SDG implementation and interrelations among goals
Discussion on SDG 4 – Quality education
Tuesday, 9 July 2019, 3:00 PM–6:00 PM, Conference Room 4
Background Note
Summary
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is universal, holistic and indivisible, with
a special imperative to leave no one behind. The achievement of SDG 4 – ensure inclusive
and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all – plays
a central role in building sustainable, inclusive and resilient societies. While education in
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is most explicitly formulated as a stand-
alone goal (SDG4), it also has reciprocal linkages across the 2030 Agenda. There are a
number of education-related targets and indicators in other SDGs, including health and
well-being (Target 3.7), gender equality (Target 5.6), decent work (Target 8.6), responsible
consumption and growth (Target 12.8), and climate change mitigation (Target 13.3).
Progress has been made towards achieving SDG4, and there are new knowledge horizons
and opportunities for strengthened solidarity and partnerships around the provision of
quality education and lifelong learning for all. Yet the context is also changing with new
technologies and skill demands, as well as economic shocks and environmental
degradation. Many barriers to education access and educational outcomes remain in
place and challenges to the monitoring of progress remain. Since education is not only an
integral part of, but also a key enabler for sustainable development, it needs to be
included in national development plans and strategies for achieving all the SDGs.
What are some practical ways to improve access to quality education and life-
long learning and deliver genuine impact both on people and sustainable
development? Which ones can be scaled up or replicated for success?
Which groups are the easiest/most difficult to reach and what can be done to
ensure that no one is left behind in access to quality education and learning or
teacher training?
What actions can countries take to monitor the quality of education and ensure
better learning outcomes?
Which are the most critical interlinkages between SDG 4 and other goals and
targets across the 2030 Agenda? How can co-benefits be promoted and trade-
offs reduced?
How do learning systems need to change to match a rapidly changing world with
technological shifts, global integration and climate pressures?
Introduction
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is universal, holistic and indivisible, with
a special imperative to leave no one behind. Education and the achievement of SDG 4 –
ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning
opportunities for all – plays a central role in building sustainable, inclusive and resilient
societies. Much progress was made under the Millennium Development Goals toward
universal primary school enrollment; SDG 4 now aims to raise the bar and make education
a catalyst for broader change toward sustainable development.
Education is a basic right and elementary to human dignity. SDG 4 also has reciprocal
linkages across the 2030 Agenda. Access to quality education is an avenue for social
mobility and reducing inequalities. Education is essential for building the knowledge base
we need to tackle critical challenges like climate change. Education will help youth
prepare for employment in the high-skill jobs of the fourth industrial revolution. And
education is a foundation for peaceful societies and effective institutions.
Education is essential for sustainable development, but investments in education that are
not accompanied by concurrent progress in other aspects of human wellbeing will fall
short of enabling all people to realize their full potential in life. Good child health and
nutrition are essential for securing learning outcomes – not only in terms of increased
class attendance, but also for improving educational achievements. Similarly, ending
poverty, thereby reducing pressures to put children to work, may be essential to universal
school enrolment. Such considerations may be especially relevant for vulnerable groups
that tend to suffer from multiple deprivations and are therefore critical to realizing the
overall objective of ‘leaving no one behind’.
While education in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is most explicitly
formulated as a stand-alone goal (SDG4), there are also a number of education-related
targets and/or indicators in other sustainable development goals. These include health
and well-being (Target 3.7), gender equality (Target 5.6), decent work (Target 8.6),
responsible consumption and growth (Target 12.8), and climate change mitigation (Target
13.3).
Status and trends1
Progress has been made to close the gaps in completion of primary and lower secondary
school. Data from 2013-2017 indicate that globally primary school completion is 85 per
cent for primary school and 73 per cent for lower secondary school.2
Despite considerable progress on education access and participation over the past years,
262 million children and youth of age 6 to 17 were still out of school in 2017 and more
than half of children and adolescents are not meeting minimum proficiency standards in
reading and mathematics.
In 2017, two out of every three children globally participated in organized learning one
year before the official primary entry age. Such learning is linked to fostering children’s
readiness for school and their future learning experience. The rate is less than 50 per cent
1
Data on status and trends in this section is referenced from the Report of the Secretary-General on
Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
2
UNESCO. 2018. Global Education Monitoring Report 2019. Paris.
in sub-Saharan Africa and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) which could have
implications for global inequality.
In 2015, an estimated 617 million—more than 50 per cent—of children and adolescents
of primary and lower secondary school age worldwide were not achieving minimum
proficiency levels in reading and mathematics. Of these, about two-thirds are attending
school but are not learning in the classroom or drop out of school.
In 72 countries with recent data, around 7 in 10 children aged 3 and 4 were
developmentally on track in at least three of the following domains: literacy-numeracy,
physical development, social emotional development and learning.
Globally, there has been little progress in the percentage of primary school teachers who
are trained– stagnating at about 85 per cent since 2015. The proportion is lowest in sub-
Saharan Africa (64 per cent).
Rapid technological changes present opportunities and challenges, but the learning
environment, capacity of teachers and the quality of education have not kept pace.
Refocused efforts are needed to improve learning outcomes for the entire lifecycle,
especially for women, girls, and marginalized people in vulnerable settings.
About 750 million adults —two-thirds of whom are women—remained illiterate in 2016.
Half of the global illiterate population lives in Southern Asia, and a quarter live in sub-
Saharan Africa.
Many developing countries still lack basic infrastructure and facilities to provide effective
learning environments. Sub-Saharan Africa faces the biggest challenges—at the primary
and lower secondary levels, less than half of schools have access to electricity, the
Internet, computers, and basic drinking water.
Official Development Assistance (ODA) for scholarships amounted to $1.3 billion in 2017.
Australia, France, Japan, the United Kingdom and EU Institutions accounted for nearly
two-thirds of this total.
Rural and urban differentials are also evident -- about 85 percent of countries (with data)
reported higher out of-school rates for primary and secondary school in rural areas
compared to urban areas.
Resource constraints pose challenges for meeting SDG 4 as only one third of all countries
spend between 15 per cent and 20 per cent of total government expenditure on
education as recommended in the Education 2030 Framework for Action.
Successes and challenges
It is a decisive moment to take stock of how to accelerate progress towards SDG 4, and to
affirm the significance of education to the rest of the 2030 Agenda. Progress has been
made and there are new knowledge horizons and opportunities for strengthened
solidarity and partnerships around the provision of quality education and lifelong learning
for all. But the context is also changing with new technologies and skill demands, as well
as economic shocks and environmental degradation and many barriers to education
access and educational outcomes remain in place.
Stakeholders highlight the importance of implementing a gendered approach to
education for accelerating progress towards SDG 4 through, among other approaches,
financial and logistical support for women and girls, employment of female teachers, the
inclusion of reproductive and sexual rights education in curricula, and increased
encouragement of girls and women to study sciences, engineering, and technology. There
are also efforts to ensure that all girls and women can equitably attend schools and
learning facilities by ensuring that safe, gender separated, and accessible sanitation
facilities (e.g. school toilets) are usable, including measures for safe and dignified
menstrual hygiene management. Education also has a responsibility to ensure that new
technologies do not exacerbate divides, including gender divides, by including digital skills
in the curriculum early on.
Education provides the means to transmit knowledge, values and skills across generation,
enabling societies to set the foundation for thriving in the future. Despite a number of
actions undertaken at all levels, public awareness of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs
appear to remain still relatively modest, especially at the grassroots and community level.
Awareness and communications strategies sometimes suffer from the lack of sustainable
and sufficient institutional and financial resources. There is a need to step up awareness-
raising activities in the next phase of implementation. Fostering sustainable and long-
term behavior change with the younger generations including through integrating SDGs
into education curricula, is important.
Especially in a rapidly changing world with technological shifts, global integration and
climate pressures; educational needs are being called into question in terms of how
learning systems match with constantly changing demands. The ways in which learning
prepares individuals for decent work (Target 4.4), as well as for life or ‘global citizenship’
in a plural, interdependent, and interconnected world (Target 4.7) is increasingly
important. Decisive action is needed as today’s skills will not match the jobs of tomorrow
and newly acquired skills may quickly become obsolete. Efforts are being taken to
revolutionize educational and learning systems to respond to the technology revolution.
Efforts to improve access to schooling and the quality of education are in order. Progress
toward universal completion of primary and secondary school was significant after 2000,
but in recent years progress has stalled. The proportion of out of school children has been
flat since 2008 with 9 per cent missing primary school, 16 percent missing lower
secondary school, and 36 per cent missing upper secondary school – whether because of
delayed entry, dropping out or missing school all together.3 The slowing down of progress
could reflect difficulties reaching those populations that are being left behind. It could
also be related to other deprivations that must be addressed to enable children to attend
school like poverty and poor nutrition.
Being at school is not enough if children are not learning. The quality of education remains
a significant challenge with too many children not reaching minimum levels of proficiency
in reading and mathematics, let alone gaining the knowledge to participate in a more
interconnected world and to act on the issues highlighted in Target 4.7 including
3
UNESCO. 2018. Global Education Monitoring Report 2019. Paris.
sustainable development, human rights and gender equality. The OECD’s Programme for
International Student Assessment (PISA) tests 15-year-old students from around the
world in reading, math and science. There are vast variations in the learning that is
achieved across countries including across OECD countries where 20 per cent of students
do not attain baseline levels of proficiency in reading. The most successful countries based
on test scores have high and universal expectations of students; a strong focus on good
teaching; resources targeted at struggling students and schools; and commitments to
long-term and coherent strategies for education. 4 Teacher training and ensuring that
teachers have access to teaching resources is also of critical importance in improving the
quality of -learning.
Higher education is a focus of Target 4.3; and plays an important role in advancing the
quality of learning and supporting life-long learning goals. It is also an important part of
other goals from reducing poverty, supporting economic growth and increasing access to
decent work; to advancing knowledge and innovation around health care, climate change
and peaceful institutions. Financial requirements for higher education can be prohibitive
and can limit access with implications for inequality. Tertiary education is least affordable
in Sub-Saharan Africa where it exceeds 60 per cent of average national income in most
countries.5
Equitable access to education and lifelong learning means that no groups or individuals
should be without access. The commitment to inclusive education extends to migrants,
displaced persons and refugees. In an era of intensified globalization, migration and
displacement are emerging as essential development policy issues with implications for
SDG 4. Yet, there is insufficient attention to how migration, forced displacement and
education interact to influence social and economic mobility. It is therefore crucial to
better understand the influence of education on migration and forced displacement, as
well as the complex challenges and unique opportunities that movements of people
present for education systems and skills acquisition, decent work and the chance for a
4
PISA, OECD. 2015. PISA: Results in Focus. Paris.
5
UNESCO. 2018. Global Education Monitoring Report 2019. Paris.
dignified life. The process for recognition of professional qualifications of refugees and
forcibly displaced persons needs to be efficient and flexible. The UNESCO Global
Convention on the Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications, in the course of
negotiation, is one such mechanism to ensuring integration.
More comprehensive and reliable data is also needed to inform policies and monitor
improvements in educational systems to deliver inclusive and equitable quality education
and lifelong opportunities for all. There have been wide-ranging advancements in the
development and measurement of SDG 4 and its 10 targets covering 11 global and 32
thematic indicators. The UNESCO Institute for Statistics continues to lead the
development of clearly defined, valid, and internationally comparable data with broad
geographical coverage.
Yet, challenges to the monitoring of SDG 4 progress remain. Among others, these include
incomplete methodological development; limited data availability in many countries and
regions and on various sources of information including on the nature of interlinkages
between education and other goals; and insufficient funding both for countries to
implement the SDG4 indicator framework, as well as for global international agencies and
regional organizations to develop indicators. Efforts to improve monitoring of and
reporting on inequalities in education are being made through the WIDE (World
Inequality Database on Education) platform.
Recommendations for action: Mechanisms and partnerships to
accelerate progress6
All SDGs are interdependent and can only be achieved if implemented together. Since
education is not only an integral part of, but also a key enabler for sustainable
development, it needs to be included in national development plans and strategies to
6
Recommendations for action draw from the outcome of the Global Education Meeting 2018 – Brussels
Declaration – held 3-5 December 2018 in Brussels, Belgium.
achieving all SDGs. Broad consultation indicates the following actions that are necessary
in different contexts to achieve SDG 4 targets.
a) Inclusion and equity in and through education and training are vital to ensuring a
transformative education agenda, and the right to safe, quality education and learning
throughout life, based on the principles of non-discrimination, gender equality and
equal opportunity for all must be ensured. For this, strategic context specific and
culturally sensitive legislation and policies are in order to make education and training
systems more equitable and inclusive “leaving no-one behind”. This requires that all
children and youth have access to quality early childhood development, care and
education. It also requires enhanced access to post-secondary education, including
technical and vocational education, further and tertiary education, including university,
accessible to all. Particular attention should be given to those in vulnerable situations,
persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, those in remote rural areas, ethnic
minorities, the poor, women and girls, migrants, refugees, and displaced persons,
whether as a result of conflict or natural disasters.
b) Teaching is a profession and teachers, school leaders, educators and trainers all play a
vital role in the collective responsibility to prepare future generations. Accordingly,
greater support and resources are needed for relevant initial and continuous
professional development, efficient and effective policies, appropriate recruitment and
deployment processes, decent working conditions, and opportunities for sharing
promising practices, professional autonomy and career pathways for teachers.
Measures are also needed to prevent teacher attrition to ensure a motivated, supported,
highly skilled, qualified, adequately resourced and empowered teaching force. Teachers
and their organizations and institutions should be involved in the development,
monitoring and evaluation of education policy.
c) Highlighting that literacy, including functional literacy, is still a major challenge, greater
efforts are needed to eradicate illiteracy through formal and non-formal education and
training and ensure equitable access to digital literacy, as well as media and information
literacy as a continuum of proficiency levels within a lifelong learning perspective.
d) Education affects the aspirations, beliefs and attitudes of migrants, refugees and
displaced persons and their sense of belonging in host communities. Investing in the
inclusion of migrants and displaced persons in education systems also helps host
communities to understand and fight stereotypes and discrimination and promote
cohesive societies. Recognition of higher education qualifications of refugees and
migrants through the UNESCO Regional Conventions, and other mechanisms such as the
European Qualifications Passport for Refugees, are important instruments to meet the
aspirations of individuals and are beneficial to both host countries, as well as countries of
origin. There is a need to include migrants, displaced persons, returnees, asylum seekers,
refugees and stateless persons in education and training systems and to facilitate
recognition of their qualifications, skills and competencies, taking account of national
context, national legislation and international agreements.
e) Social, political, environmental and economic changes, as well as accelerated
technological innovations, have profound implications for education and training systems.
Accordingly, commitments are needed to support lifelong learning opportunities for all
to ensure necessary competencies for personal development, decent work and
sustainable development, with attention to climate change, adaptation and mitigation.
Additionally, education institutions must provide children, youth and adult learners with
the competences to be active citizens in democratic and sustainable societies. This
includes efforts to promote education for sustainable development and sustainable
lifestyles, democracy and human rights, gender equality, age-appropriate comprehensive
sexuality education, physical education and sports, education in native language, peace
and non-violence, global citizenship and active participation, appreciation for cultural
diversity, multilingualism, intercultural dialogue, solidarity and more peaceful, tolerant
and inclusive societies. This requires attention to pedagogy, curricula, teaching and
learning materials, assessments, initial teacher training and continuous professional
development, inter alia.
f) Higher education and technical and vocational education and training based on
collaboration with all relevant stakeholders is important for the future including
regional and national mechanisms for the recognition of higher education and vocational
qualifications. Skills acquired through non-formal and informal education and learning
also require support.
g) Adherence to the international benchmarks of allocating at least 4-6 per cent of Gross
Domestic Product and/or at least 15-20 per cent of total public expenditure to
education is necessary to meet SDG 4 targets. There is a need for more efficient and
equitable resource allocation and improved accountability in expenditure including
through legislation. Accordingly, strengthened domestic resource mobilization is in order,
including through tax reform, anti-corruption measures and tracking of illicit financial
flows, as agreed in the Addis Ababa Conference on Financing for Development. In addition,
SDG 4 will require increased volume and predictability of international aid towards
meeting the benchmark of 0.7 per cent of GNP, with active participation of governments,
the private sector, philanthropic organizations and foundations to strengthen public
education, and with a larger share of aid to countries with the greatest needs. Funding
should prioritize resources to improve the quality of education and social outcomes in an
equitable and inclusive way according to needs and priorities of countries.
h) Children and young people have a right to learn free from violence. A safe learning
environment, free of bullying and violence, including gender-based violence, is critical to
improve educational and social outcomes. Harassment and violence of all forms in
education institutions must be addressed.
i) Attacks on education and training have damaging impact – with the potential to
increase student dropout and teacher attrition, lead to extended school and university
closures, diminish the quality of education and cause physical and psychological harm. In
this regard, education and all its facilities and institutions should be protected from
attacks and military use, and parties to armed conflict should be urged not to use
schools and universities for military efforts.
j) Acknowledging that the international community has embraced the new monitoring
framework, which calls on diversifying education and training data sources and the
current review of progress through agreed national, regional and global processes, efforts
are needed to strengthen monitoring of inclusion, equity and quality. This includes
optimizing education governance systems and the use of existing indicators and ensuring
more disaggregated data to better track inequalities based on gender, ethnicity, language,
income, disability status, migratory status and geographical location. In recognizing the
value and risks associated with Big Data, actions must emphasize the importance of
protecting personal data of learners and teachers.
k) Progress toward SDG 4 calls for the meaningful involvement of youth, students,
teachers, school and post-secondary institution leaders, and their representative
organizations, as well as communities, parents, civil society and academia at all stages,
from planning to monitoring progress in ensuring the right to quality education for all. In
this regard, the capacities of public authorities and stakeholders need to be strengthened
to monitor and evaluate equity and quality in education and training and to ensure more
transparent reporting for public accountability.
l) National and regional SDG4 coordination and implementation mechanisms need to
be reinforced to strengthen international cooperation, solidarity and partnerships by
learning from each other's experiences and developing joint initiatives ensuring
complementarity and synergy in our efforts to meet our shared goals and commitments.
m) Education is a public good and public responsibility, a fundamental human right and
an important basis for ensuring personal fulfilment and for the realization of other
rights essential for peace and sustainable development. Governments have the primary
responsibility to deliver on the right to education and a central role as custodians of
efficient equitable and effective management and financing of public education
accessible to all.
Guiding questions
What are some practical ways to improve access to quality education and life-
long learning and deliver genuine impact both on people and sustainable
development? Which ones can be scaled up or replicated for success?
Which groups are the easiest/most difficult to reach and what can be done to
ensure that no one is left behind in access to quality education and learning or
teacher training?
What actions can countries take to monitor the quality of education and ensure
better learning outcomes?
Which are the most critical interlinkages between SDG 4 and other goals and
targets across the 2030 Agenda? How can co-benefits be promoted and trade-
offs reduced?
How do learning systems need to change to match a rapidly changing world with
technological shifts, global integration and climate pressures?
Annex 1: SDG 4 targets
SDG 4 Targets under SDG 4
Ensure 4.1 By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and
inclusive and secondary education leading to relevant and Goal-4 effective learning outcomes
equitable
4.2 By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood
quality
development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary
education education
and promote
4.3 By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality
lifelong technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university
learning
4.4 By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills,
opportunities
including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and
for all
entrepreneurship
4.5 By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels
of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with
disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations
4.6 By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and
women, achieve literacy and numeracy
4.7 By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote
sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable
development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a
culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural
diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development
4.A Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and
provide safe, nonviolent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all
4.B By 2020, substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to
developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing
States and African countries, for enrolment in higher education, including vocational
training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and
scientific programmes, in developed countries and other developing countries
4.C By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through
international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least
developed countries and small island developing states
