Education International Research
9. Conclusions and Recommendations This report provides a crucial reality check to offset the overly rosy assessments governments often present in their voluntary self-reporting on progress made towards the SDGs. It reveals that, from the perspective of teachers and education support personnel (education experts who are on the ground, experiencing first-hand the successes and challenges of education systems on a daily basis), the world is severely off track to achieve SDG 4 by 2030. Though governments have made some noteworthy efforts toward implementing SDG 4, many educators suggest that overall, their governments have not taken the necessary steps to ensure that they are able to monitor and implement SDG 4 in a timely manner. Worse still, some educators reveal that their governments are actively undermining SDG progress through bad policies. It is still possible to achieve SDG 4 by 2030, but continuing business as usual is not an option. Immediate action must be taken to accelerate progress towards SDG 4.
The SDG policy paradox For educators, the progressive goals of the SDGs clash with conservative policies. There is a profound paradox here that must be addressed: the SDGs are about progress for humankind, but politicians cannot deliver this whilst hanging on to policies such as austerity and privatisation. Equitable, inclusive, quality education for all requires that governments make sufficient investments to build strong public education systems and to recognise their responsibility to guarantee education as a human right and public good. At their core, the SDGs are about solidarity. In adopting a global agenda for a better world, governments committed to work together to leave no one behind. However, since 2015 we have witnessed the rapid rise of far-right fascist ideologies, anti-immigration policies and nationalist populism. There is a glaring disparity between the SDG’s progressive agenda, which focuses on social justice and the health of planet Earth, and the intensifying attacks on democracy and human rights. According to the UNPEF in Algeria, “there is no real progress towards SDG 4 due to a lack of political, economic and social democracy�. The growing global attack on democracy shows the increasing relevance and necessity of advocating for the realisation of the 2030 SDG Agenda. The SDGs are a global shared agreement for a better world, and the roadmap to get there is underpinned by solidarity, not hate. Rising xenophobia, racism, discrimination and intolerance demonstrate more than ever the importance of quality education as an antidote to bigotry and injustice. GRO.EI-IE
Major obstacles to progress identified in the report: 1. The status of the teaching profession is low and, in some cases, even declining. Working and employment conditions are too often poor, resulting in a severe shortage of qualified teachers. 2. Human and trade union rights are often under threat, and union involvement in education policy development is all too often lacking, insufficient, spontaneous or cursory (even in countries that have ratified ILO Conventions 87 & 98 and 151 & 154).
0302 NOITA CUDE
3. Domestic funding for education remains insufficient, and in too many cases, it has actually decreased in real terms since 2015. Meanwhile, privatisation and commercialisation of education has expanded and intensified since 2015. 4. Numerous marginalised groups such as persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, remote and/or rural populations, ethnic minorities, the poor, women and girls, and refugees and displaced persons remain unable to enjoy their right to quality education due to prohibitive costs, discrimination, lack of support, irrelevant curricula or exclusionary practices in schools.
79