General Assembly Third Committee Topic A: Literacy, Education, and the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4 Literacy stands at heart of the 2030 Agenda. It is a foundation for human rights, gender equality, and sustainable societies. It is essential to all our efforts to end extreme poverty and promote well-being for all people. That is why the Sustainable Development Goals aim for universal access to quality education and learning opportunities throughout people's lives. 1 -Ban Ki-moon, Former United Nations Secretary-General The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an interdependent set of overarching goals designed to dramatically advance global human development by 2030. 2 The fourth goal, which is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, is considered by many to have the potential to have a transformative effect on other goals. 3 The United Nations (UN) has identified that educating children provides the next generation with the tools to fight poverty and prevent disease. 4 Based on current trends, only 70% of children in low income Member States will complete primary school in 2030. This is a rate that was once hoped to be attained by 2015. 5 The global community has been called upon to ensure that an inclusive and equitable education is provided to all its citizens. Background The promotion of education has been a goal of the UN since its inception. Among the first organizations established by the UN was the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). UNESCO was founded on November 16, 1945 to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among nations in education, science and culture. 6 Today, UNESCO is headquartered in Paris and is made up of 190 Member States. The organization serves a vital role in promoting human, social, and economic development as well as the rights enshrined in both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. 7 Education is a significant are of focus for UNESCO, both in terms of its activities and funding. 8 UNESCO views education as a necessary element of democratic societies, as a lifelong process, and as a process requiring high quality and innovative approaches. 9 Among the most important UNESCO education programs is the Education for All (EFA) initiative. The EFA initiative is a global effort to promote literacy and basic education for all, while ensuring 1 "On eve of Literacy Day, UN Secretary-General highlights literacy's role in 2030 Agenda," UN News Centre, September 7, 2016, https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?newsid=54867#.ws7rn5lyvcs. 2 Ibid. 3 "Literacy," UNICEF Data, accessed on May 4, 2017, https://data.unicef.org/topic/education/literacy/#. 4 Ibid. 5 Global Education Monitoring Report, UNESCO, accessed June 22, 2017, http://en.unesco.org/gem-report/. 6 "About Ed / Initiatives, UNESCO -- United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization -- International Affairs Office, July 19, 2012, https://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/internationaled/unesco.html. 7 "Education," Global Partnership for Education, accessed on July 16, 2017, http://www.globalpartnership.org/education. 8 Ibid. 9 Ibid.
progress through national plans and monitoring mechanisms. 10 The EFA initiative is a result of the 2000 World Education Forum, at which 164 governments pledged to achieve universal access to education and identified six goals to be met by 2015. 11 Governments, development agencies, civil society and the private sector are working together to reach the EFA goals. 12 The EFA goals, whose deadlines expired in 2015, became a focus for the E-9 Forum. The E-9 forum is a group of nine countries that constitute over half the world s population and 70% of the world s illiterate adults. 13 The E-9 Forum has become a platform for Member States to discuss their experiences and challenges related to education, to exchange best practices on educational initiatives and programs, and to monitor EFA-related progress. While the EFA goals were among the most important education-focused international frameworks, education has long been a core objective of most international development agendas. Millennium Development Goals In the year 2000, the international community adopted a set of overarching development goals for the first time. The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which ranged from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS to providing universal primary education, all by 2015, were blueprints for the international development agenda. MDG 2 sought to achieve universal primary education, and resulted in several positive outcomes for the global community. Enrollment in primary education in developing regions reached 91 per cent in 2015, up from 83 per cent in 2000. 14 Among youth aged 15 to 24, the literacy rate improved globally from 83 per cent to 91 per cent between 1990 and 2015, and the literacy and education gap between women and men has narrowed. 15 However, the global community has failed to meet the benchmarks set by the MDGs by 2015. In developing regions, children in the poorest households are four times as likely to be out of school as those in the richest households. 16 In countries affected by conflict, the proportion of out-of-school children increased from 30 per cent in 1999 to 36 per cent in 2012. 17 In 2015, there were still 57 million children out of school. 18 Sustainable Development Goals At the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, Member States adopted a new global development agenda, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 17 SDGs and their 169 targets were included in the agenda and their broad scope is indicative of the goals 10 "Education," Global Partnership for Education. 11 Ibid. 12 Ibid. 13 "HPM Sheikh Hasina urges E-9 countries to integrate EFA initiatives with SDG-4," Bangladesh Awami League, accessed on May 4, 2017, https://www.albd.org/~parbonc/index.php/en/updates/news/4492-hpm-sheikhhasinaurges-e-9-countries-to-integrate-efa-initiatives-with-sdg-4. 14 "Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education," We Can End Poverty: Millennium Development Goals and Beyond 2015, accessed on June 22, 2017, http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/education.shtml. 15 Ibid. 16 Ibid. 17 Ibid. 18 Ibid. 2
ambitious nature. 19 The SDGs build on the MDGs and aim to achieve the goals the MDGs were incapable of reaching. 20 They seek to realize the human rights of all and to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. 21 They are integrated, indivisible, and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: the economic, social and environmental. 22 The agenda s goals and targets will be monitored and reviewed using global indicators within a framework coordinated by the Inter-agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators and agreed upon by the UN Statistical Commission. 23 To support national-level implementation of SDG 4 and its targets, the international education community adopted the Education 2030 Framework for Action in Paris in November 2015. 24 An important focus of SDG 4 is lifelong learning opportunities for all, which is a process that begins at birth, carries through all stages of life, and addresses the vital human right of education. 25 The High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) is the United Nations central platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. It provides for the full and effective participation of all Member States of the United Nations and Member States of specialized agencies. The HLPF's theme in 2019 will be, Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality, and SDG 4 will be addressed at the meeting. 26 Current Issues: Barriers to Implementation The UN has called upon governments, individuals, communities, and organizations to take steps to promote education in policy and practice. 27 The UN also encourages the private sector to invest resources in the development of educational tools and facilities, and urged non-governmental organizations to partner with youth and other groups to foster the importance of education within local communities. 28 While many challenges remain, literacy rates among youth and adults have had an overall positive trend, largely due to expanded access to education. 29 Globally, the youth literacy rate increased from 83 per cent to 91 per cent over the last two decades, while the number of illiterate youth declined from 170 million to 115 million. 30 Despite this progress, many disparities based on gender and geographic factors continue to persist. 19 "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, United Nations, accessed on July 16, 2017, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld. 20 Ibid. 21 Ibid. 22 Ibid. 23 Ibid. 24 "Education 2030 Framework for Action," Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies, accessed on July 16, 2017, http://www.ineesite.org/en/education-2030-framework-for-action. 25 "Education - United Nations Sustainable Development," United Nations, accessed on April 19, 2017, http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/education/. 26 "High-Level Political Forum 2017: Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform," United Nations, accessed on May 4, 2017, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/hlpf. 27 "Education - United Nations Sustainable Development," United Nations. 28 Ibid. 29 Ibid. 30 Ibid. 3
The 2017 Sustainable Development Goals Report quantified the progress being made towards the achievement of SDG 4 and identified remaining areas of concern. Despite noted progress, millions of children are still not enrolled in school. Due to issues of limited access to educational opportunities due to pockets of exclusion and hard-to-reach populations, the upswing in enrollments has stagnated in 2008. 31 If children are not enrolled in school, they lose the opportunity to learn basic skills and hurt the overall effectiveness of sustainable development aims. Furthermore, in the poorest States, children are substantially less likely to participate in education prior to the start of primary school. As early childhood is a critical time for cognitive development, not participating in pre-primary education robs children of a boost in social, emotional, and intellectual development. 32 In many regions, most notably in sub-saharan Africa, there is a shortage of trained teachers and existing schools are in poor condition. This jeopardizes the goal of quality education for all. 33 Schools in sub-saharan Africa and similar regions often lack the basic amenities taken for granted in other parts of the world, such as safe and reliable access to electricity and sanitation facilities. Developing and least developed countries are also less likely to have access to computers, information and communication technologies, and the Internet for pedagogical purposes; thus, access to information and quality education materials remains severely limited. 34 Gaps in Literacy and Access to Education Literacy rate are lowest in the least developed countries, and lower, in particular, among females than males. In the most recent years for which data is available, young women accounted for 59 percent of the total illiterate youth population. 35 In many regions, particularly in West and Central Africa and South Asia, illiterate women far outnumber their male counterparts. 36 The gender parity index stands at 0.79 and 0.91 for West and Central Africa and South Asia, respectively. 37 Educating girls, in particular, has been identified as having a multiplier effect. Educated girls are more likely to marry later and have fewer children, who in turn will be more likely to survive and to be better nourished and educated. 38 Educated women are more productive at home and better paid in the workplace, and more able to participate in social, economic and political decisionmaking. 39 Case Study: Bethel Business and Community Development Centre, Lesotho 31 https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/files/report/2017/thesustainabledevelopmentgoalsreport2017.pdf 32 Ibid. 33 Ibid. 34 Ibid. 35 "Education - United Nations Sustainable Development," United Nations. 36 Ibid. 37 Ibid. 38 "Literacy," UNICEF Data. 39 Ibid. 4
SDG 4 includes targets to substantially expand the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States, and African countries by 2020. These grants are meant to increase enrollment in higher education, including vocational training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and scientific programs, in developed countries and other developing countries and ensure equal access for women to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education. 40 One of the most affected populations is sub-saharan Africa which is home to more than half of the world's children that have not enrolled in school. 41 The Bethel Business and Community Development Centre (BBCDC) is a commercial and technical school in Lesotho which provides skills and knowledge for self-reliance through experiential learning. 42 The school aims to link learning to career and business development, the management of which encourages financial self-sustainability, commercial activity and responsible environmental management. 43 In January 2014, the BBCDC held a technical training course to install a high capacity 500-liter solar water heating system. 44 It is for demonstration purposes and supplies hot water to students and guests. 45 In October and November, the 2 nd year students in the commercial stream, who would graduate in June, were given the opportunity to complete the landscaping at the St. Camillus Children s Home as part of an ambitious apprenticeship. 46 The St. Camillus Children s Home had been built in 120 days by 2 nd year construction students with commercial students in a parallel stream providing the catering. 47 In June, 35 students graduated, which was the largest class that the BBCDC has had in its history. 48 They are closely monitoring the graduates by following up with them every three months and will continue to track them for 24 months after graduation to inform future practice and programming at BBCDC. 49 Future Outlook: Education can boost per capita income by raising labor productivity and accelerating technological development and adoption. 50 In low income countries, it is estimated that universalizing upper secondary completion would increase per capita income by up to 75% by 2050. 51 Even if achieving SDG target 4.1 is not sufficient to eliminate extreme poverty by 2030, there is broad acceptance that it would help promote completion of many of the other SDGs. 52 Universal secondary 40 Ibid. 41 "Education - United Nations Sustainable Development," United Nations. 42 "BBCDC Annual Review 2014," Bethel Business and Community Development Centre, accessed on April 19, 2017, https://drive.google.com/file/d/0by8t-pucsgpbbuxjsdr2snjfm0k/view?pli=1. 43 Ibid. 44 Ibid. 45 Ibid. 46 Ibid. 47 Ibid. 48 Ibid. 49 Ibid. 50 Ibid. 51 Ibid. 52 Ibid. 5
education would have a particularly strong impact on disaster-related deaths in Asia, since it has the largest populations and many of the most vulnerable reside in coastal areas. 53 For these reasons, the international community will continue to place priority on education and literacy. 53 "BBCDC Annual Review 2014," Bethel Business and Community Development Centre. 6
Focus Questions: 1. Does your Member State participate in the E9 forum for countries to discuss their experiences related to education, exchange best practices, and monitor EFA-related progress? 2. What has your Member State done in terms of global development agenda, Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development? 3. What progress has your Member State made in regards to providing inclusive and equitable quality education for all before 2030? 4. What has your Member State done about educating girls? 5. What has your Member State done in regards to providing official development assistance for educational scholarships? 6. How has your Member State worked within the UNRWA and UN Volunteer Teachers to provide education for Palestinian refugees from Syria? 7. How has your Member State worked within UNESCO s EFA initiative? 7
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