Goal 4: Quality Education

If you cannot read or write, or perform basic arithmetic, you effectively have little chance of taking charge of your own life and enjoying equal opportunities. Education impacts not only on your career, but on many other aspects of life including social contacts and political participation.

People with no school education tend to be poor and have few opportunities to escape poverty. They lack the most basic skills and knowledge that would enable them to earn a living. But the poorer a family is, the shorter the schooling of their children – it really is a vicious circle.

A lot has been achieved in recent years. Literacy rates have risen significantly around the world, as has the number of children completing basic or primary education. But there are still millions of children who do not attend school – many of them girls. Even in some industrialised countries members of socially disadvantaged groups or minorities find it much more difficult to access high quality education or gain a place at a university. And the quality of education fluctuates enormously around the world.

What must be done?

Every individual should have free access to every level of the education system. And that means that gender, background, position within society or disabilities must not result in disadvantages. It starts in pre-school, and continues in school and later in vocational training or university studies. Where an individual cannot afford education, grants must be available. Where necessary, schools must be built, extended and better equipped in order to create a positive, open learning environment. Teachers must be well trained and better paid, if they are to give children a high quality education.

Facts and figures

57 million primary school age children, most of them girls, do not attend school. The actual figure is probably very much higher.
More than 770 million young people and adults cannot read or write. About two thirds of them are women.
Between 2000 and 2013 the number of university and college students in the world’s developing regions doubled.

Targets

Ensure school education Pre-primary education for all Technical, vocational and tertiary education More qualified workforce Inclusion Achieve literacy and numeracy Education for sustainable development Barrier-free education facilities Scholarships for developing countries Train teachers

All content

© Getty Images/FG Trade
© Getty Images/FG Trade
Inclusivity in Education for Children with Disabilities
Virtual Coffee Break (recording)

Susan Nasipwoni looks at how to create a more inclusive education for children with disabilities by breaking down barriers and creating inclusive learning environments. #byalumniforalumni
Read more
Poster by books4future in Cologne © books4future
SDG 4 - Reading to save the world
The ‘books4future’ community shares literature recommendations to get young people excited about books. After all, reading helps us to understand our present-day problems.
Read more
© Getty Images/conceptualmotion
© Getty Images/conceptualmotion
Why reclaiming a sustainable world is not a pipe-dream
The COVID-19 pandemic struck us when the world entered the last decade of action to attain global sustainable development goals. There is a setback, but there is hope to get back on track. We must invest in the youth as they can be change-makers with their natural inclination towards diversity, inclusion and justice.
Read more
© Alumniportal Deutschland
© Alumniportal Deutschland
Higher education around the world
Goal 4 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. We want to know: What does higher education look like worldwide and how is it when it comes to education with equal opportunities?
Read more
Ulf Matysiak© 1041 Inc.
Ulf Matysiak © 1041 Inc.
Goal 4 - Quality Education
1014 spoke with Ulf Matysiak of Teach First Deutschland about equitable quality education in Germany. Ulf is the CEO of the non-profit organization which has been teaching children in low-income neighborhood schools since it was founded in 2009.
Read more
© Getty Images/anyaivanova
© Getty Images/anyaivanova
Gender equality in Africa
Interview: What do women need to make it to the top in science? Two African researchers talk about unconventional career paths, peculiarities of the continent - and their own fighting spirit.

Read more
© Getty Images/Rawpixel
© Getty Images/Rawpixel
Round-up Talk: Equal rights and opportunities
Five Germany alumni, who campaign for more equality and social justice around the world, participated as experts in our round-up talk. In the interview you will learn, among other things, how the alumni are committed to more equal opportunities and equality and which specific tips they give to other committed people.
Read more
© Andi Buchner
© Andi Buchner
Auma Obama: “It’s up to each individual to improve his or her own life”
Through her Sauti Kuu Foundation, Auma Obama is supporting children and young people in her native Kenya. The Germany-Alumna is convinced that, with the right support, everyone can take control of their own lives.
Read more
© Wits-TUB Urban Lab
© Wits-TUB Urban Lab
SDG Graduate Schools: Shared knowledge for the cities of tomorrow
Population growth, air pollution, congested roads – the challenges are increasing in the cities of sub-Saharan Africa. A South African-German graduate school is now promoting young experts to help them make cities more sustainable.
Read more

THE GLOBAL GOALS

“We can be the first generation that ends poverty and the last that avoids the worst effects of climate change.”

Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General from 2007 to 2016