Background Leave no one behind – an international concern

In March 1990, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) organised the first World Conference on Education for All in Jomtien, Thailand. Participating countries adopted the World Declaration on Education for All and the Framework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs (External link). They pledged, among other things, to provide universal access to primary schools by the year 2000, to improve the quality of basic education and to reduce adult illiteracy rates by around 50 per cent compared to 1990 figures. These targets follow on directly from what had been agreed in the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In April 2000 – 10 years after the Jomtien conference – a World Education Forum took place in Dakar, Senegal. The international community was forced to admit that it was a long way off from achieving the goal of “Education for All”. The 164 participating countries adopted an action plan (Dakar Framework for Action (External link)), which essentially took over the goals that had been formulated in Jomtien back in 1990. 2015 was set as the deadline for their achievement.

Two of the eight Millennium Development Goals formulated in 2000 were also aimed at the education sector. However, experts have criticised the fact that the education goals were purely quantity-based: Goal 2 (achieving universal primary education) was based on the number of children enrolling in school and completing their education, but did not set any standards for education quality. Under Goal 3 (promoting gender equality), gender quality applied only to access to education and not, for example, to whether women who have finished school also have equal opportunities in the labour market.

These qualitative aspects have played a larger role in the debate about the new post-2015 global development goals.

In May 2015, UNESCO convened the World Education Forum in Incheon (Republic of Korea). The forum paid tribute to the progress achieved by the Education for All movement. The overall picture however, at that point in time was mixed. Important achievements to be noted were that the number of children out of school had dropped massively. More children were able to transition from primary school to secondary education. The educational opportunities of girls, too, had improved in many countries.

However, overall, countries throughout the world had failed to meet the pledges made in 2000. The donor countries’ promise that no country should fail to meet the education goals set for lack of funding was not kept. The children who did not attend school were often from disadvantaged backgrounds. Gender equality in education had not been achieved. Corruption continued to be widespread.

A new vision for education for the period up to 2030 was drawn up at the World Education Forum. The Incheon Declaration (External link) says: “We commit with a sense of urgency to a single, renewed education agenda that is holistic, ambitious and aspirational, leaving no one behind”.

This vision was spelled out in full detail just a few months later, in the form of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Education 2030 Framework for Action.

In September 2015, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (External link). The Agenda was drafted with broad civil society participation. The 2030 Agenda is universally applicable and comprises 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 4 reads: “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. Ten targets were defined for SDG 4, which are to be achieved by 2030.

• 4.1 Ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.
• 4.2 Ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.
• 4.3 Ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university.
• 4.4 Substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.
• 4.5 Eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations.
• 4.6 Ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.
• 4.7 Ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.
• 4a Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all.
• 4b Substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States and African countries, for enrolment in higher education, including vocational training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and scientific programmes, in developed countries and other developing countries.
• 4c Substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing States.

It is not only in the context of SDG 4 that the 2030 Agenda stresses the huge importance of promoting education when it comes to achieving sustainable development. A well-educated population is a fundamental prerequisite for successful poverty reduction, sustainable economic growth and social development. Education has a positive impact on family health, helps empower women and enables each and every individual to participate in social and economic life.

The Education 2030 Framework for Action (External link) was adopted in November 2015 with a view to identifying ways of achieving the education goals. It envisages, for instance, offering all children and young people a minimum of one year of free pre-primary education and 12 years of free, publicly funded, inclusive and equitable quality primary and secondary education. Compulsory education should last at least nine years.

Every year, UNESCO publishes a Global Education Monitoring Report which presents the progress made on implementing the education goals and highlights areas where more action is required.

The Transforming Education Summit (External link) which is the international education summit of the United Nations was held in New York in September 2022. The aim was to create attention for the global education crisis, make education a priority on the international agenda and achieve a political consensus regarding education reforms in order to facilitate the achievement of SDG 4 by 2030. At the Education Summit, government representatives and education actors from around the world and including youth delegates discussed ways out of the education crisis.

A total of 130 countries committed to improving their national education systems. The youth delegates drafted a youth declaration (External link) with joint recommendations for political decision-makers on measures in the education sector. In addition, six Calls to Action (External link) were adopted on: education in crisis situations, addressing the learning crisis by improving the quality of learning, transforming the world through education, digital learning, advancing gender equality and financing education.