In 2015, the United Nations created 17 world development goals named Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to provide opportunities and thereby enhance prosperity for people worldwide. Out of the 17 goals of the SDGs, the fourth one was to provide quality education to everyone. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) is currently working on providing quality education under the UN wing. This project aims to leave no one behind and to make sure that everyone gets a good education and skills. Due to this program, there has been a remarkable increase in the literacy rate around the globe and the number of children out of school has dropped to half.
Due to armed conflicts, poverty, political instability, weak governance, and many other factors in third-world countries, it was a tough job to bring up quality education and opportunities. In these countries, the ratio of poor children out of school is four times higher than that of a rich child. Due to poverty and illiteracy, a large number of children were out of school in Western Asia and South Africa. To bring high-quality education to third-world countries, the UN has to address a lot of problems that can cause disturbance while achieving this goal. It also needs funding and support from local businesses and organizations, as a lack of funding and inadequate infrastructure may affect communication and slow the process. Illiteracy hinders a nation’s development and thus causes many internal and external problems for the state. That’s why it was one of the important aims of the SDGs to provide quality education to all third-world countries.
Education is the most powerful and effective tool that opens the gateway to prosperity and development. That’s why the SDGs aim to provide free, quality education to all girls and boys by 2030. Education has a good impact on the economy as well. Business firms and many organizations can invest in children’s education, providing them opportunities and creating a workforce that would be beneficial for their economic growth as well as giving the people a chance to lead a decent life. Education can bring continuous success to the country and can help improve its global image. Providing complete free education can give us more opportunities and skills to combat the problems arising in the world, like climate change, and to end inequality, extreme hunger, and poverty. It gives a person a chance to change his whole livelihood. It can bring long-term economic growth around the world and can change the whole pattern of the world system. Knowledge increases creativity and empowers individuals to innovate, problem-solve, and envision new possibilities. With that, one can contribute to making the world happier and healthier
To conclude, the SDGs aim to increase literacy rates around the globe by 2030, which requires a lot of effort from everyone. Building schools in Africa and western Asia and giving scholarships to required students can help resolve this issue. Furthermore, free vocational training institutions can also play a big role in this regard.
Reference: Article “Sustainable Development Goal 4: An Education Goal to
Achieve Equitable Quality Education”
Surat tana Adipat1*
Rattanawadee Chotikapanich2
The writer is a student of “BS-IR” at “International Islamic University Islamabad” and a member of PYDIR.