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The dream of global education equality: How can we ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn?
In today's world, education is considered a key factor that can promote sustained sustainable development, enhance nation-building, and promote peace. Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) aims to ensure access to quality and equitable education and lifelong learning opportunities for all, especially children and youth.
According to the United Nations, as of 2015, tens of millions of children around the world are still not receiving an education. Although countries have made some progress in increasing enrollment rates, according to 2017 data, there are still 262 million children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 who are not in school worldwide. Of those children who do enter school, more than half fail to meet minimum proficiency standards in reading and math.
Education is seen as a force for sustainable development, helping to improve the lives of learners and the future of society.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on education systems. It is estimated that more than 80% of countries around the world have experienced large-scale learning losses during the pandemic. Many educational institutions were forced to quickly shift to online education, but many students in developing countries faced challenges in obtaining necessary network access and a safe learning environment.
Challenges and investment needs in education
Despite significant progress in primary education enrolment, improving quality remains a pressing issue. With regard to the various goals and indicators of SDG 4, the distribution of education resources around the world still shows obvious inequality.
The key to achieving educational equity lies in increasing investment in education, especially in developing countries.
SDG 4 defines ten main goals, covering seven outcome targets, including free compulsory education, elimination of gender discrimination in education, and universal literacy and mathematics skills, and proposes several means, including improving educational facilities and increasing Supply of qualified teachers.
Specific goal analysis
One of the goals in SDG 4 is to “ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education”. One of the indicators for this goal notes that despite growth in enrolment, the number of students below the required level remains high, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. This means that simply expanding enrollment is not the ultimate solution to the problem, and the quality of education needs to be improved.
According to a World Bank report, in 2016, 200 million children failed to achieve basic reading and math skills in primary and secondary education.
SDG 4 also includes ensuring that every student entering primary education has participated in high-quality early childhood education, which is the cornerstone of every child's future academic success. More importantly, the third goal of SDG 4 focuses on equal access to technical, vocational and higher education for all. According to 2018 data, the global higher education enrollment rate has reached 38%, showing the potential of this field.
The importance of policy advocacy and international cooperation
Investing in education is an important step in ensuring that every child in the world has access to a quality education. Many national documents highlight plans to improve school infrastructure, expand scholarships, and increase the training of qualified teachers. This requires international cooperation and support, especially providing financial support and technical assistance to the least developed countries.
Creating inclusive and safe school environments is another key element in improving learning outcomes.
In the process of promoting countries to achieve SDG 4, gender equality and support for vulnerable groups cannot be ignored. Particularly in developing countries, participation in education remains low for girls, indigenous peoples and people with disabilities. Therefore, creating equal opportunities for these groups requires specific policies and measures to improve the educational environment.
Looking forward to future possibilities
To ensure that education goals are achieved, policymakers and education alliances around the world must work together to prioritize addressing educational inequalities and strengthen the use of technology and digital tools so that every child can learn safely and happily. environment. The future of education does not only depend on financial investment, but also requires the reshaping of educational concepts to ensure that the acquisition of knowledge is not blocked by any form of obstacles.
If the world’s shared dream of educational equality can finally be realized, what kind of commitment and efforts do we need to make in action?
