people and planet

9
KEY MESSAGES
Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) and its 10 targets represent the vision and aspirations
of the global education community for 2030. Their ambition goes beyond any previous global
education agreement.
Monitoring progress towards SDG 4 is critical to show what needs to be done, by when and by whom.
The Global Education Monitoring Report has a mandate outlined in the Incheon Declaration and the
Education 2030 Framework for Action to monitor and report on SDG 4 and on education in
the other SDGs.
Many important concepts in the 10 SDG 4 targets are not yet covered by any proposed indicator.
Among those that are covered, several details remain to be fixed in the indicators, and this report
aims to inform the debate.
The ambition of SDG 4 is reflected in its focus on improvements in education outcomes, such as
learning achievement; access at post-basic education levels, including upper secondary and tertiary
education; its lifelong learning perspective, including adult education; the reduction of disparity in
education based on factors such as wealth, gender and location; and changes in the content of
education to better align it with the challenges of sustainable development.
There is a huge task ahead for national statistical systems to monitor progress towards SDG 4 and
for education ministries to make effective use of the new information.
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CHAPTER 9 | THE CHALLENGES OF MONITORING EDUCATION IN THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS