Education International Research
Executive Summary As governments report on progress toward implementation of SDG 4 and other goals at the 2019 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), Education International provides an assessment of progress on SDG 4 from the perspective of teachers and education support personnel. This assessment draws from the daily experiences of teachers and education support personnel in the classroom and explores the challenges they face to provide quality education to all. Based on a survey of teacher and education support personnel representatives as well as outcomes from EI conferences and research conducted since the SDGs were adopted, the report provides a crucial reality check to offset the overly rosy assessments governments tend to present in their voluntary selfreports. The report focuses on SDG 4 target areas that educators are well placed to assess: primary and secondary education, early childhood education (ECE), technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and higher education, equity, education for sustainable development (ESD) and teachers, as well as financing and coordination issues.
Off Track The report reveals that, from the perspective of teachers and education support personnel, the world is severely off track to achieve SDG 4 by 2030. Some noteworthy government efforts toward implementing SDG 4 are highlighted, but many educators suggest that their governments have not taken the necessary steps to ensure they are able to monitor and implement SDG 4. Educators denounce governments for inadequate coordination, planning and funding of SDG 4. Worse still, some educators reveal that their governments’ policies are actively undermining SDG progress. For example, in Turkey, the government is repressing trade unions and has imprisoned academics. In the Philippines, schools in indigenous communities have been militarised and students and teachers harassed. In Morocco, the government has undermined teachers’ right to decent work by employing thousands of teachers on precarious contracts. Five key obstacles to progress stand out: 1. Teachers have low status and poor employment and working conditions, making teaching an unattractive profession. GRO.EI-IE
2. Human and trade union rights are still being violated and educators are inadequately involved in policy development. 3. Public systems are underfunded and education privatisation is expanding and intensifying. 4. Inequitable education systems exclude and discriminate against minorities and the vulnerable. 5. Education for sustainable development, including climate change, is marginalised.
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