Features and Issues of Education Global Governance in the SDGs Era

Abstract

Over the past quarter century, Education for All (EFA), comprising a political declaration and a framework for action, has served as an influential instrument of the education global governance structure. For developing countries, the structure is added by the aid architecture which has been utilizing evolving modalities, most recently results-based financing mechanism under which aid money is released to its recipient government after achieving predetermined results indicators. Education 2030, the new global education agenda that coincides with the fourth goal of Sustainable Development Goals, retains these features.

Education takes on important roles to provide knowledge and skills that are necessary for achieving the entire Sustainable Development Goals. Its Target 4.7 encapsulates what should be the orientation of the transformative goals, by emphasizing human rights, peace, Education for Sustainable Development and other key words.

Although the philosophy of the education agenda and its key contents remain mostly unchanged during the period since 1990, the sense of policy priority has shifted more toward quality of education as a consequence of the progress to universalized access to basic education. The meaning of education quality points to effective learning outcomes, while at the same time satisfying inclusiveness and equity as crystalized in the goal statement of Education 2030. The current agenda is highly challenging especially for developing countries that are pressed to produce results which are increasingly linked to the flow of aid resources. Both aid recipients and providers need to collaborate with a broad-based participation of stakeholders and people who have knowledge but have not necessarily been involved in international cooperation in the past.

Education global governance has clearly contributed to educational development of the world but has good room to be examined further to be improved. As its member, each of us now has a role to play to realize our common goal of Education 2030.