Goals for Life

Mir Faraz, Year 6H

SDG 4: Quality Education for All

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.

The 17 SDGs are integrated—that is, they recognize that action in one area will affect outcomes in others, and that development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability.

THIS MONTH’S SPOTLIGHT

What is SDG 4 all about?

The objective of SDG 4, as stated by the United Nations is to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”

SDG 4 sees education as absolutely imperative for ensuring sustainable development and world peace. Goal 4 believes that education is not a privilege, but a human right. Education connects all the other goals, as being educated helps the underprivileged have access to equal opportunities, which help them break out of the vicious cycle of poverty. It can undoubtedly be said that SDG 4 is possibly the most crucial Sustainable Development Goal.

Effect of COVID-19 on the Attainment of SDG 4

Before COVID-19, it was already estimated that there would still be 200 million children out of school by 2030. Needless to say, COVID-19 has exacerbated the problem. 90% of all students in the world are out of school as a result of lockdowns and school closures, and remote learning remains out of reach for 500 million students. Furthermore, only 65% of schools have adequate basic handwashing facilities, something which is critical for COVID-19 prevention. This is why SDG 4 needs to be focused on all the more.

Winchester’s Contribution to SDG 4

In December 2019, The Winchester School raised Dh132,000 to support the education programmes for underprivileged children in rural Malawi. The initiative, in association with Dubai Cares, is part of the ‘Adopt a School’ programme targeting children in developing countries and providing them with primary education.

“Goals for Life” by Mishal and Mir Faraz is a column dedicated to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which are actually a blueprint to an inclusive and sustainable planet. Though a lot of information is available on various platforms about the SDGs, it is imperative that they are propagated through as many mediums as possible and given visibility and a voice that reaches far and wide. This column endeavours to elaborate on a different SDG every month and encourage all readers to be passionate changemakers.