| Azlan Othman |
THE Ministry of Education (MoE) is envisioning the need and significance to formulate a national framework for Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) Education 2030 in ensuring the most appropriate Plan of Action to implement and monitor the SDG4.
This was said by Permanent Secretary (Core Education) at the MoE Dr Shamsiah Zuraini Kanchanawati binti Haji Tajuddin at the opening ceremony of the Sub-Regional Meeting on SDG4 for Quality Education 2030 and the Annual Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Countries Report Meeting at The Centrepoint Hotel in Gadong yesterday.
Legislative Council (LegCo) members Yang Berhormat Khairunnisa binti Haji Ash’ari and Yang Berhormat Iswandy bin Ahmad were also present.
Dr Shamsiah, who is also the Secretary-General of the Brunei Darussalam National Commission to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), added, “Therefore, the outcome of the workshop on Day Three can be applied as a guideline not only for Brunei Darussalam but for other cluster countries’ journey to Quality Education 2030.
“By having this national framework guideline, the five cluster countries under the UNESCO Jakarta Office will have a useful mechanism to plan towards 2030, as well as focussing on the right resources and strategies needed to implement actions and programmes.
“The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a universal plan of action to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. It addresses the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are indivisible and encompass economic, social and environmental dimensions, and to leave no one behind.
“In this three-day workshop, our attention will be on SDG4. SDG4 sees education as life-long learning opportunities for all, and we are fully aware that SDG4 plays a significant role in the realisation of all the 17 SDGs, as it is the key to produce world citizens with the right knowledge and skills.”
Dr Shamsiah added that according to the data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) in 2016, 263 million children, adolescents and youth were out of school worldwide, representing nearly one-fifth of the global population of that age group.
“During the Sustainable Development Goal 4 – Education 2030 Steering Committee meeting in Paris in February 2018, it was informed that the figure has barely changed,” she said.
“So with the slow rate of progress, it reinforces a call for a far greater effort and investment in education at all levels to ensure progress towards SDG4, including more resources for data gathering and analysis, to monitor the pace and equity of that progress.
“The ultimate realisation of SDG4 has the potential to reduce, or even eliminate issues like poverty, social inclusion, and inequality of opportunities, just to name a few. That is why education and SDG4 has an immense influence on economic development and sustainability.”
Meanwhile, Acting Director-General of Education Hajah Anis Faudzulani binti Haji Dzulkiflee highlighted that it is the duty of policymakers and educators to ensure that children are given every opportunity to become well-informed, responsible citizens, who when faced with making decisions, will ask themselves how their actions will affect themselves, other people and their surroundings.
Head of Education at the UNESCO Jakarta Office Dr Mee Young Choi said that ESD is one of the strategic entry points to achieve Target 4.7 of SDG4, “to ensure all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development”.
She urged the five cluster countries to collaborate together to attain the SDG4 goals.
Co-hosted by the MoE and UNESCO Jakarta Office, the three-day event is attended by representatives from UNESCO Jakarta Office and UNESCO Bangkok Office as well as representatives from the five cluster countries under the purview of UNESCO Jakarta which are Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Timor-Leste.
Also attending the workshop are directors and senior officers from the MoE, the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) and the Islamic Studies Department (JPI) under the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA).