Islamabad
With Unesco, Unicef and the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training as the chief organisers, Islamabad hosted the first national consultation workshop on Sustainable Development Goal–4 (SDG) ‘the Education 2030 Agenda’ here Tuesday to develop a common understanding on SDG-4 and to devise a roadmap for attainment of quality education and goals set for 2030.
The workshop was drawn upon the Framework for Action (FFA) Education 2030 adopted in November 2015 by Unesco member states that aims at supporting countries to realize their own vision and ambitions for education within the framework of the global SDG-4 and its targets.
The FFA also proposes ways of implementing, coordinating, financing and monitoring Education 2030 to ensure equal education opportunities for all. The implementation of the 2030 Education Agenda at national level requires country-led actions to drive change, supported by effective multi-stakeholder partnerships and financing.
Over 150 participants including officials of MoFE&PT, provincial/area education departments, civil society organizations, academia, media, UN agencies and donor community attended the event.
Minister of State for Education Muhammad Baligh-ur-Rehman expressed the government’s resolve to do away with deficiencies to have a prosperous Pakistan. He mentioned that during Unesco General Conference in November this year, Pakistan fully committed to these goals and has adopted them as national development goals 2030. He expressed that during the last two years, a phenomenal increase in budgetary provision for education has been made.
Resource allocations for tertiary education, which were just Rs. 40 billion, have been enhanced to Rs80 billion. The resources for education are being gradually enhanced in line with tax to GDP ratio. The minister added that more than 400 schools in the Capital Territory have been refurbished with state-of-the-art facilities to have more and more children enrolled, and to attract students from private schools.
The minister said, the consultative workshop is a manifestation of the government’s ownership to actualize education related to SDG-4. He informed that the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC) has approved formation of a Core Committee on SDG-4 with equal representation.
Unicef’s deputy representative Cris Munduade said, the new SDGs state a clear commitment to quality, inclusiveness, and lifelong learning with a focus on childhood education. She said, UNICEF strongly supports early childhood development and learning process at national as well as provincial and areas level, and is working to strengthen local partners and the education departments for completing the unfinished agenda of education for all.
“The journey of education is exciting and challenging; children cannot wait and the right to education must be seen as a basic human right. UNICEF is committed to support country-led policies, actions and priorities for education to meet the 2030 new targets,” Cris Munduade emphasized.
Giving the global perspective on SDG-4, Unesco Representative to Pakistan Vibeke Jensen talked about SDG-4 goals and targets with an expectation from countries to localize, contextualize and devise an implementation strategy for its attainment. She mentioned that the SDGs goals have been endorsed by the education ministers of the member sates.
Representatives of the United Nations in Pakistan and development partners including, Tracy Vienings, Deputy Country Director, UNDP; Jamshed Kazi, Country Director, UNWOMEN; Stephen Gluning, Deputy Country Director, WFP; Johann Pierre Siffointe, Deputy Representative, UNHCR; Umbreen Arif, Senior Education Specialist, World Bank; Saeed Ul Hassan, Head of Education, OXFAM GB; Julie Reviere, Country Director GIZ Pakistan and representative of the National Education Development Partner Group (NEDPG) and representatives of ILO; and UNFPA in their remarks deliberated on the issue and reaffirmed their commitment towards promoting the education agenda.
During the concluding session, education experts participated in a panel discussion on ‘Quality Education, Inclusive and Equitable Education, and Financing Imperatives,’ and shared their views in light of the SDG-4, the 2030 Education Agenda.
