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LaShae Brown

Mr.Taylor

Honors English I

30 October 2019

Quality Education

Quality Education is a way to improve lives and achieve sustainable development.

Quality education should be inclusive and equal with highly trained teachers and facilities in

good condition (“Quality”). Inclusive education is a part of making schools easier for children

with disabilities, making quality education accessible to children in communities where poverty

is high and equality for males and females in schools. Gender inequality in schools is a major

issue, about one third of countries in developing regions have not achieved gender parity in

primary education (“Education”). Girls and boys do not have the same opportunities and

resources in education which is one part of achieving quality education. Another part of quality

education is having facilities in good condition. Schools need access to air systems and clean

water and especially in countries with high poverty. There are targets that the United Nations

wants to achieve by 2030 such as, “to ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and

quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and goal-4 effective learning

outcomes.” (“Quality”). Another target is to “ build and upgrade education facilities that are

child, disability, and gender-sensitive.” (“Quality”). These target goals are the first steps to

achieving equal and high-level education for everyone.

Quality Education is an important part of achieving sustainable development.

Sustainable development is economic growth without destroying natural resources, quality

education is part of sustainable development because it can break the cycle of poverty. There are
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more jobs available to people with better education, more education leads to better-paying jobs

which will help stop the cycle of poverty. Quality education can also help create a more peaceful

society. Schools and teachers can promote tolerance between children regardless of their

differences. Another reason quality education is an important issue that should be improved is

because it can teach tools that can be useful in solving the world’s biggest problems. The

problem is that there are still countries and communities that have children who are still not

enrolled in schools and there are schools where students are not meeting proficiency levels. For

example, “More than half of children that have not enrolled in school live in Sub-Saharan

Africa.” (“Quality”). Places like Sub-Saharan Africa have many kids still not enrolled in schools

because of the lack of trained teachers there and very little access to resources such as water,

electricity, computers, and the internet that are needed to achieve a quality education. “617

million children lack minimum proficiency in reading and mathematics” (“Why it matters”), this

is because a lack of supplies such as books, technology, and quality trained teachers to help

students reach proficiency levels. Quality education can break the poverty cycle with better jobs

and improve the world by creating a more peaceful and tolerant society.

There are a lot of things being done to achieve the goal of quality education. One thing

being done is youth programs to encourage education in communities where enrollment rates

were low before (“Education”). As a result of this and other programs to encourage education,

there has been a steady growth in enrolment rates over the past few years (“Why it matters”).

Enrollment rates are also rising because there are more children in the primary education age

group. There are training programs for teachers, so they can help children reach proficiency

levels in all communities and to better prepare the students for the workforce. There are some

things that need to be done to reach the goal of quality education by 2030. One thing being done
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is encouraging people to donate money to schools. The money would be used for the resources

that are needed in schools like water and electricity and to build better learning facilities. The

United Nations is trying to provide free primary education for everyone. They are trying to do

this because families in countries like Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa can’t afford school for their

children (“Why it matters”). The United Nations is making efforts to improve education for the

poorer communities in the world.

One organization that works on the issue is the UNESCO, the UNESCO believes that

education can change lives by ending poverty, building peace and helping reach the goal of

sustainable development which is economic growth without depleting natural resources

(“Education”). This organization believes education is a right that should be given to everyone.

UNESCO also believes education should be equal between genders and equal between children

in poor communities and children in other communities. They also advocate for global

citizenship which is encouraging learners to get involved globally and locally to solving

problems like peace and inclusivity (“Education”). The organization also fights for human rights

in education that will help with communication skills in society. The UNESCO focuses on

equality and growth from preschool to higher education.

There is still a lot that still needs to be done to reach the goal for quality education. To

drive sustainable development there still needs to be equal access to education for everyone and

better-trained teachers in schools. Children still need to reach the proficiency rates from

preschool all the way up to higher education. The public can donate to resources like electricity

and for better pay to teachers. The public can also rally for the government to prioritize education

by funding better schools and making sure every child is enrolled in school (“Why it matters”).
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Overall quality education is an important step toward sustainable development and the overall

improvement in society.

Works Cited
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“Quality Education.” United Nation, 21 October 2019,

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/education/.

“Quality Education: Why it matters.” 2019,

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/4.pdf .

“Education transforms lives.” UNESCO, 21 October 2019,

https://en.unesco.org/themes/education.
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