Sep 19 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)
Education key in proposed goals for post-MDG period
Manash Gohain
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New Delhi
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UNGA Plans 16 Targets For 2015-30
Acknowledging that quality education is key to sustainable development, a new set of goals for the postMillennium Development Goals (MDG) period has been proposed at the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday .Started in 2000, the MDG period expires in 2015. While many success stories have been scripted, majority of the goals fell short of expectation under the MDG. Previous United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) Education for All Global Monitoring Report cited how almost 1 billion people are still likely to be extremely poor in 2015 and 57.8 million children are still out of primary school.
Therefore, the need to provide quality education to the greatest number of people is woven through all the new goals that will be effective from 2015 to 2030. United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon said: “Education is a fundamental right and the basis for progress in every country. Parents need information about health and nutrition if they are to give their children the start in life they deserve.Prosperous countries depend on skilled and educated work ers. The challenges of conquering poverty, combating climate change and achieving truly sustainable development in the coming decades compel us to work together.
With partnership, leadership and wise investments in education, we can transform individual lives, national economies and our world.” Education will be central to the success of the international targets that will replace the MDG. That’s the key point of a new booklet released during the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Produced by UNESCO’s Education for All Global Monitoring Report, the booklet states that new global development targets after 2015 should be based on a holistic approach to sustainable development.
It has set 16 goals starting with poverty reduction, which indicates that education is critical to escape chronic poverty. It stated that one year of education is associated with a 10% increase in wages. Other goals include nutrition improvement with the help of education. If all women had a secondary education, they would know the nutrients that children need, the hygiene rules they should follow and they would have a stronger voice in the home to ensure proper care. Improved nutrition would save more than 12 million children from being stunted — a sign of early childhood malnutrition.
“The evidence is unequivocal: education saves lives and transforms lives, it is the bedrock of sustainability,” says UNESCO director general Irina Bokova, “This is why we must work together across all development areas to make it a universal right.”
Therefore, the need to provide quality education to the greatest number of people is woven through all the new goals that will be effective from 2015 to 2030. United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon said: “Education is a fundamental right and the basis for progress in every country. Parents need information about health and nutrition if they are to give their children the start in life they deserve.Prosperous countries depend on skilled and educated work ers. The challenges of conquering poverty, combating climate change and achieving truly sustainable development in the coming decades compel us to work together.
With partnership, leadership and wise investments in education, we can transform individual lives, national economies and our world.” Education will be central to the success of the international targets that will replace the MDG. That’s the key point of a new booklet released during the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Produced by UNESCO’s Education for All Global Monitoring Report, the booklet states that new global development targets after 2015 should be based on a holistic approach to sustainable development.
It has set 16 goals starting with poverty reduction, which indicates that education is critical to escape chronic poverty. It stated that one year of education is associated with a 10% increase in wages. Other goals include nutrition improvement with the help of education. If all women had a secondary education, they would know the nutrients that children need, the hygiene rules they should follow and they would have a stronger voice in the home to ensure proper care. Improved nutrition would save more than 12 million children from being stunted — a sign of early childhood malnutrition.
“The evidence is unequivocal: education saves lives and transforms lives, it is the bedrock of sustainability,” says UNESCO director general Irina Bokova, “This is why we must work together across all development areas to make it a universal right.”
