Aim:

1. Ambitions for education are essentially captured in Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG
4) of the 2030 Agenda which aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education
and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” by 2030. 
2. Progress has also been tough in some developing regions due to high levels of poverty,
armed conflicts and other emergencies. In Western Asia and North Africa, ongoing
armed conflict has seen an increase in the number of children out of school. This is a
worrying trend. While Sub-Saharan Africa made the greatest progress in primary school
enrolment among all developing regions – from 52 percent in 1990, up to 78 percent in
2012 – large disparities still remain. Children from the poorest households are up to four
times more likely to be out of school than those of the richest households. Disparities
between rural and urban areas also remain high.
3. UNESCO is responsible for coordinating the international community to achieve this
goal through partnerships, policy guidance, capacity development, monitoring and
advocacy.

SDG 4.0 Targets:

Target 4.1:  

By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and
secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.

The provision of 12 years of free, publicly-funded, inclusive, equitable, quality primary and
secondary education – of which at least nine years are compulsory, leading to relevant learning
outcomes – should be ensured for all, without discrimination.

Target 4.2:

By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care
and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.

The provision of at least one year of free and compulsory quality pre-primary education is
encouraged, to be delivered by well-trained educators, as well as that of early childhood
development and care.

Target 4.3:

By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical,
vocational and tertiary education, including university

It is imperative to reduce barriers to skills development and technical and vocational education
and training (TVET), starting from the secondary level, as well as to tertiary education, including
university, and to provide lifelong learning opportunities for youth and adults. The provision of
tertiary education should be made progressively free, in line with existing international
agreements.

Target 4.4:

By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills,
including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship

Access: Equitable access to TVET needs to be expanded while quality is ensured. Learning
opportunities should be increased and diversified, using a wide range of education and training
modalities, so that all youth and adults, especially girls and women, can acquire relevant
knowledge, skills and competencies for decent work and life.

Skills acquisition: Beyond work-specific skills, emphasis must be placed on developing high-
level cognitive and non-cognitive/transferable skills, such as problem solving, critical thinking,
creativity, teamwork, communication skills and conflict resolution, which can be used across a
range of occupational fields.

Target 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

Inclusion and equity: All people, irrespective of sex, age, race, color, ethnicity, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property or birth, as well as persons
with disabilities, migrants, indigenous peoples, and children and youth, especially those in
vulnerable situations or other status, should have access to inclusive, equitable quality education
and lifelong learning opportunities. Vulnerable groups that require particular attention and
targeted strategies include persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities and the
poor.

Gender equality: All girls and boys, women and men, should have equal opportunity to enjoy
education of high quality, achieve at equal levels and enjoy equal benefits from education.
Adolescent girls and young women, who may be subject to gender-based violence, child
marriage, early pregnancy and a heavy load of household chores, as well as those living in poor
and remote rural areas, require special attention. In contexts in which boys are disadvantaged,
targeted action should be taken for them. Policies aimed at overcoming gender inequality are
more effective when they are part of an overall package that also promotes health, justice, good
governance and freedom from child labor.

Target 4.6:

By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women,
achieve literacy and numeracy

The principles, strategies and actions for this target are underpinned by the contemporary
understanding of literacy as a continuum of proficiency levels in a given context. It goes beyond
the understanding of a simple dichotomy of ‘literate’ versus ‘illiterate’. Therefore, action for this
target aims at ensuring that by 2030, all young people and adults across the world should have
achieved relevant and recognized proficiency levels in functional literacy and numeracy skills
that are equivalent to levels achieved at successful completion of basic education.

Target 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
nonviolence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s
contribution to sustainable development

It is vital to give a central place to strengthening education’s contribution to the fulfilment of

human rights, peace and responsible citizenship from local to global levels, gender equality,
sustainable development and health. The content of such education must be relevant, with a
focus on both cognitive and non-cognitive aspects of learning. The knowledge, skills, values and
attitudes required by citizens to lead productive lives, make informed decisions and assume
active roles locally and globally in facing and resolving global challenges can be acquired
through education for sustainable development (ESD) and global citizenship education (GCED),
which includes peace and human rights education, as well as intercultural education and
education for international understanding.

Target 4.A:

Target 4.a Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive
and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all

This target addresses the need for adequate physical infrastructure and safe, inclusive
environments that nurture learning for all, regardless of background or disability status.

Target 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

Scholarship programmers can play a vital role in providing opportunities for young people and
adults who would otherwise not be able to afford to continue their education. Where developed
countries offer scholarships to students from developing countries, these should be structured to
build the capability of the developing country. While the importance of scholarships is
recognized, donor countries are encouraged to increase other forms of support to education. In
line with the SDG 4 - Education 2030 focus on equity, inclusion and quality, scholarships should
be transparently targeted at young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Target 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

Teachers are the key to achieving all of the SDG 4 targets. It requires urgent attention, with a
more immediate deadline, because the equity gap in education is exacerbated by the shortage and
uneven distribution of professionally trained teachers, especially in disadvantaged areas. As
teachers are a fundamental condition for guaranteeing quality education, teachers and educators
should be empowered, adequately recruited and remunerated, motivated, professionally
qualified, and supported within well-resourced, efficient and effectively governed systems.

Link with Other SDG’s:

Health and well-being (SDG 3 target 3.7)

By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including for
family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into
national strategies and programs.

Gender equality (SDG 5 target 5.6)

Number of countries with laws and regulations that guarantee women aged 15-49 years access to
sexual and reproductive health care, information and education.

Decent work and sustainable growth (SDG 8 target 8.6)

By 2020 substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training.

Responsible consumption & production (SDG 12 target 12.8)

By 2030 ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for
sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature.

Climate change mitigation (SDG 13 target 13.3)

Improve education, awareness raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change
mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning.

Facts & Figures:

1. Before the coronavirus crisis, projections showed that more than 200 million children
would be out of school, and only 60 per cent of young people would be completing upper
secondary education in 2030.

2. Before the coronavirus crisis, the proportion of children and youth out of primary and
secondary school had declined from 26 per cent in 2000 to 19 per cent in 2010 and 17 per
cent in 2018.
 3. More than half of children that have not enrolled in school live in sub-Saharan Africa,
and more than 85 per cent of children in sub-Saharan Africa are not learning the
minimum 

4. 617 million youth worldwide lack basic mathematics and literacy skills.

5. Some 750 million adults – two thirds of them women – remained illiterate in 2016. Half
of the global illiterate population lives in South Asia, and a quarter live in sub-Saharan
Africa.

6. In 10 low- and middle-income countries, children with disabilities were 19per cent less
likely to achieve minimum proficiency in reading than those without disabilities.

7. 4 million refugee children were out of school in 2017

Women And SDG 4:

More girls than ever before are going to school. Not only do they learn to read and write,
but each year that they remain in school after the primary level, reduces their chance of
marrying at too young an age. It increases their prospects for employment, health and
overall well-being. Girls and women have an equal right to a quality education and
learning throughout all phases of their lives.

Despite progress, as many as 48.1 per cent of girls remain out of school in some regions.
Gender gaps in primary and secondary enrolment rates have nearly closed, on average.
Yet 15 million girls are not in primary school right now, compared to 10 million boys. In
adolescence, higher numbers of girls often drop out of secondary school for reasons
including early pregnancy and the expectation that they should contribute to household
work.

UN Women acts to promote equality in education through the revision of school

curricula and policies to counteract gender discrimination, and equal access to vocational
education and training as well as information technologies. Together with partners, we
have worked on school curriculums and on virtual schools. 
 SDG 4 in India:

Significant progress has been made in the universalization of primary education in India,
with higher enrolment and graduation rates for girls in each of these primary and middle
schools. The net enrolment ratio for boys and girls in primary education was 100%, while
the youth literacy rate was 94% for males and 92% for females at the national level.

The new National Policy on Education and Sustainable Development Goal 4 addresses
the priorities of quality universal education and lifelong learning. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan,
the government's main initiative, aims to achieve universal education of high quality for
all Indians, with the introduction of a focused nutritional support system, higher learning
and teacher training.

To achieve all of the aim 4 objectives; India's overall budgetary requirement is in the
amount of 142 lakh crores ($2258 billion). Even though there is no monetary disparity
found due to legislation and funding allocation under the Right to Education Act in
primary and secondary schooling, there are substantial disparities of early childhood
education and tertiary and higher education.

Of the total 35 lakh crores ($555 billion) needed to ensure use in quality early childhood
growth, treatment, and initial stage of primary education i.e pre-primary education, and
the gap of 27 lakh crores($429 billion).In addition, India shall need an estimated of 19
lakh crores($301 billion) to ensure the quality of technical, vocational, and tertiary
training.

In order to improve Indian higher education quality to meet global standards, additional
funding might need to go beyond what is projected here. It is projected that India needs a
total of 9 lakh crores ($145 billion) to train the labour force of India. Projections show
which only about 2% of the current staff may have completed structured skills training
and around 15% of the current human resource have marketable job skills, while 90% of
India's jobs are competency based and need vocational education.

WIndia's government is considering a target of 500 million people skills by 2022.

Because of the fragmented existence of the government and investments of the private
sector in capacity development, the finance gap under this portion is not evaluated.
Moreover, India's total skills potential is now only 7 million people a year, requiring
significant participation of the private sector in the skills labour force and also a
significant extension of government skills resources.

Challenges:

India SDG Index: Goal 4 Index Score

SDG Index Score for Goal 4 ranges between 29 and 80 for States and between 49 and 79 for
UTs. Kerala and Chandigarh are the top performers among the States and the UTs, respectively.
Five States and three UTs bagged a position in the category of Front Runners (score range
between 65 and 99, including both). However, nine States and two UTs fell behind in the
Aspirants category (with Index scores less than 50).
SDG – 4 and India’s situation: