Figure 1 4th Goal: Quality Education
(Source: http://www.iacdglobal.org/2019/11/13/the-sustainable-development-goals-and-disability/)
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 specific goals proposed by the UN General Assembly in September 2015 take into account three important aspects of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. Among them, I pay more attention to the fourth goal, Quality Education. I believe that this goal can build a solid foundation for sustainable development and help other goals be better and faster achieved.
According to World Inequality Database on Education statistics[1], less than 50% of poor children in 39 countries have completed primary education. At the same time, in 30 countries worldwide, there are serious imbalances in the proportion of males and females completing junior high school education, of which women are vulnerable groups. One piece of statistic data clearly states that at least 25% of poor young women are uneducated in 35 countries worldwide. These monotonous statistics above have far-reaching significance, which reveal current various problems in education in terms of education popularity, gender, language and age. Therefore, it is imperative to promote quality education.
Figure 2 Children are Educated
(Source: https://www.globalacademicforum.org/the-six-as-of-quality-education/)
We should make it clear that education is not simply a matter of reading to the test, but a long process of shaping one’s knowledge system and changing one’s perception of the world through continuous learning. Only by mastering knowledge can we have the ability to promote the economic and cultural development of the society and to change the surrounding environment. So, what is quality education? In my opinion, quality education is actually a tool to help people break the cycle of poverty and achieve gender equality. It is also an important means to maintain social order and social equity. If education is to teach children how to use knowledge and skills wisely and how to treat the society properly, then quality education is to enable every child to enjoy the right to such education, which means that they can receive preprimary education, intermediate or even higher education. This is the basic requirement of 4th Goal of the Sustainable Development Goals, which is to achieve by 2030 that all boys and girls can complete free and high-quality fundamental education.
However, quality education is not just about universal education. It must focus on high quality. First of all, it needs to improve the lack and imbalance of existing educational resources, so as to ensure that children in poor areas can also have the opportunity to receive the same level of education as in developed areas. Secondly, quality education is aim at further improving the school’s running conditions and infrastructures to provide students with a comfortable learning environment. Finally, quality education should ignore the gender differences between men and women so that it can fundamentally make up for the misunderstanding of education caused by previous gender inequality.
What is the significance of Quality Education to sustainable development? Quality education can lay the foundation for the other 16 goals. In other words, without the guarantee of quality education, the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals will be limited. For example, quality education can provide the poor with the knowledge base to escape poverty, thereby driving the achievement of Goal 1 No Poverty. Quality education can also enable everyone to live independently and master some basic vocational skills to get rid of hunger and employment difficulties. (According to data from 114 countries from 1985 to 2005, an additional year of education will reduce the Gini coefficient by 1.4%.) This will serve Goal 2 Zero Hunger and Goal 8 Decent Work, offering them possibilities. In addition, quality education can promote gender equality and help vulnerable groups facing discrimination, such as women and people with disabilities. Thus, to some extent, the gender equality issues mentioned in Goal 8 are addressed.
Figure 3 Quality Education
(Source:https://twitter.com/education2030un/status/1077559844905803778)
All in all, we need to understand the importance of quality education and think about how to solve the current educational disadvantages at the level of social practice. Finally, I would like to conclude this article with a quote from the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon:
Education must fully assume its central role in helping people to forge more just, peaceful and tolerant societies.
Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations
Reference:
[1] World Inequality Database on Education: https://www.education-inequalities.org
[2] What do we mean by a quality education?: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-do-we-mean-by-a-qual_b_9284130
[3] Quality Education: Why it Matters?: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/4.pdf
[4] What do we mean by “Quality Education”?: https://www.concernusa.org/story/quality-education/
Lynne's Social Lab 
Amazing！ We chose the same topic! 😎 You connect the gender differences with education, which is a interrelated problem and we have to solve them synchronously, also we can see that women are at the bottom in the society at the most. I agree that quality education can give people not only basic knowledge, but also practical techniques, because we have to consider that the target group of quality education is not the elite, but the general public, who need the ability to get basic survival that fundamental technique can provide. Furthermore, the word works well only if general public have their own goal of live, so at this level quality education is the goal that the whole world should pay attention and realize it.
By the way, I think education can give one person a new vision that escape from his/her own family bondage. Such an exciting thing, which should benefit more people.
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We’re interested in the same topic 🙂 I strongly agree with your opinion. I firmly believe that quality education can not only change a person’s knowledge level but also change his/her life trajectory! A simple example, with the help of education, people may discover their own specialities and make full use of them, and finally create their inestimable value. Education is important to everyone!~
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This post is inspiring. You gave very detailed description of what quality education is like from your own perspective. However, I may not disagree with “Quality education can lay the foundation for the other 16 goals”. I think the world is pretty difficult and quality education does play a role in other 16 goals but not the extent that it becomes the foudation of others. Anyway, this post is interesting and inspiring.
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Oh~Thanks for your comment! I’m sorry for this inaccurate statement about the relationship between quality education and other goals. Actually, I mean that quality education can help achieve the other 16 goals better and faster~
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Kids in poor countries and regions count on the education to change their future and destiny. However, they can only received some so-called quality education which might only help them prevent becoming an illiteracy. I agree with you that quality education is not just some simple task, it is a long and complicated process. People with good quality education can create more when they enter the society. And you connected the education with other goals like economics and decent work, which is a great thinking!
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I agree with you! Many children in poor countries still don’t have access to the quality education proposed by UN. The knowledge they received was limited to basic literacy and mathematics, and even that was not guaranteed. Many children are unable to use the education they received to gain a foothold in the society, which is one of the key concerns of quality education. Thanks for your comment~
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Your article drive me think about the education of China. China also faces the challenge in education equality and balance. Children in rural areas are unable to receive good quality of education as children in the urban areas. With the development of technology, such as remote learning, dual teacher, we can do a lot of things in improving education equality. But there is still long way to go. I believe children in every corner will receive the best quality education and have the opportunity to enter the best universities in the world in the future if our whole country keeps working on it. Your article is so impressive and really thought-provoking.
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You’re right! There are still many children in China who do not have access to quality education. What they lack is not only educational facilities such as water, electricity and desks, but also excellent teachers and learning resources. I share your conviction that, with the continued efforts of our country, these problems will gradually improve. Let’s look forward to the future together!~
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This article is very good, but I have a different point of view. For zero hunger, only going to receive education when those are not hungry. Although it is cruel to say so, it seems to be the case. What do you think?
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😔Maybe you are right, but I regard this point as a good wish. Each goal contributes to the other 16 goals. For your question, I think education can only provide some help for the realization of Zero Hunger. For example, quality education helps the poor master necessary life and labor skills, which benefits them from earning more money to buy food. However, it may not be enough to tackle hunger. Maybe government’s fund and social welfare agencies’ support will make an effort on this basic problem.
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Little 🐑, I love your blog design!!!!!!!!!! The pictures are cute and the fonts are cute, they’re all pretty cute anyway～My heart is melting!
I agree with you that education is not simply a matter of reading to the test, but a long process of shaping one’s knowledge system and changing one’s perception of the world through continuous learning.It is the responsibility of the whole society to ensure that children receive quality education, which ensures social equity and the realization of sustainable development goals. Look forward to your next blog ~
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😘 Our society and the whole world is gradually becoming better and better. With the attention paid by education, quality education will be further developed!!! The bright wish that every child can enjoy good educational resources and environment will sonly come true in the future!
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