Ei-iE

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AP / vide

Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4

In 2015, all countries committed to achieving 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Education International played a critical role in securing a stand-alone goal for education - Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4): Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. Significantly, SDG4 recognised that quality education can only be delivered by qualified teachers.

However, at the current pace, governments will fail to achieve SDG 4. The COVID-19 pandemic poses additional challenges, and risks reversing years of progress on education. Urgent and decisive action is imperative.

Together with our member organisations around the world we are working to ensure that governments live up to their promise to achieve SDG 4 and all its targets by 2030.

  • We monitor progress and hold governments accountable.
  • We advocate for enhanced domestic financing for public education through fair and progressive taxation and international aid.
  • We oppose corporate interests that treat education as a market instead of a public good accessible to all.
  • We promote quality education that is free from violence, develops the “whole child”, builds tolerance, understanding, democracy, respect for human rights and active citizenship for sustainable development.
  • We promote the achievement of the “teacher target” (target 4.c), underlining every students’ right to be taught by a trained and qualified teacher.

Our work in this area

  1. News 30 October 2013

    Fiji: Teachers’ action plan to increase education quality

    EI's affiliates, the Fijian Teachers’ Association (FTA) and the Fiji Teachers Union (FTU) have started to implement an Action Plan to launch their campaign linked to the EI Unite for Quality Education campaign.

    Fiji: Teachers’ action plan to increase education quality
  2. News 30 October 2013

    Mongolia: Educators push for quality education during WTD

    The Federation of Mongolian Education and Science Unions(FMESU), EI’s national affiliate, has organised a joint meeting under the theme, “I have a message for the government”, at the Confederation of Mongolian Trade Unions’ level. The meeting was held in conjunction with the one-year EI Unite for Quality Education initiative.

    Mongolia: Educators push for quality education during WTD
  3. News 29 October 2013

    European educators unite for quality education

    EI's European region, the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE), held a special meeting on 23 October in Brussels. Entitled "What is needed to improve the quality of education in Europe?", it brought together trade unionists from across Europe to reflect on challenges ahead and discuss measures to improve...

    European educators unite for quality education
  4. News 28 October 2013

    Miscellaneous news

    Other related news on EU issues

    Miscellaneous news
  5. News 28 October 2013

    High-level social partners agreement with the Commission on education and training

    During the recent years, ETUCE has issued a number of positions and had several meetings with the Directorate-General of Education and Culture of the European Commission, wherein we urged the European Commission to invite the social partners to more dialogue on policy initiatives of the European Commission on education and...

    High-level social partners agreement with the Commission on education and training
  6. News 28 October 2013

    Spain: 83% of education employees take part in general strike

    The Spanish unions CCOO, FETE-UGT and STES-I stated that the general strike of the education employees, which took place on 24 October 2013 across Spain and was called for by the National Platform for Public School, was very successful.

    Spain: 83% of education employees take part in general strike
  7. News 28 October 2013

    EU Employment and Social Situation Quarterly Review – September 2013

    There are signs of fragile economic recovery, but economic growth is unlikely to be sustained unless it is inclusive and job rich, especially while labour market and social conditions remain extremely challenging and divergence between countries is growing

    EU Employment and Social Situation Quarterly Review – September 2013
  8. News 25 October 2013

    Lebanon: Providing education to refugee children

    “Lebanese educators are doing a splendid job of accommodating the tens of thousands Syrian refugee children who have entered their class rooms in the past two years.” EI General Secretary, Fred van Leeuwen, conveyed this message to the Education Minister of Lebanon, Mr. Hassan Diab, and the leaders of the...

    Lebanon: Providing education to refugee children
  9. News 23 October 2013

    Australia: Quality education campaign launched

    The Independent Education Union of Australia (IEU), one of EI’s national affiliates, has launched its Quality Education campaign at the National Carillon in Canberra in support of the EI Unite for Quality Education initiative and World Teachers’ Day.

    Australia: Quality education campaign launched
  10. News 18 October 2013

    Corporate funding, a threat to academic independence

    Corporate funding of universities could lead to corruption in the higher education sector. That’s according to an article by EI senior advisor David Robinson in a report launched on 1 October by Transparency International. The non-government organisation’s Global Corruption Report: Education is a comprehensive guide to corruption risks in education...

    Corporate funding, a threat to academic independence
  11. News 18 October 2013

    UK: Strike action over Government refusal to negotiate

    The National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) have gone on strike as part of their continuous action to seek decent living and working conditions for teachers.

    UK: Strike action over Government refusal to negotiate
  12. News 17 October 2013

    Spain: Strike called to confront savage cuts

    The Plataforma Estatal por la Escuela Pública (State Platform for Public Education), an umbrella group of trade unions and civil society organisations, has called a general education strike, for every level, on 24 October. An increase in pupil-teacher ratios, in contact hours, job losses, and budget cuts in areas as...

    Spain: Strike called to confront savage cuts
  13. News 16 October 2013

    Finland: Union joins EI’s Unite4Ed campaign

    Opetusalan Ammattijärjestö(OAJ), one of EI’s national affiliates in Finland, has unveiled its plan to join in EI’s ‘Unite for Quality Education’ (Unite4ed) initiative.

    Finland: Union joins EI’s Unite4Ed campaign
  14. Publications

    Child labour and Education for all

    A resource guide for trade unions and a call against child labour and for education for all
    16 October 2013

    The effective elimination of all forms of child labour is a key objective of the international trade union movement. Universal access to free, quality, compulsory, basic education is the foundation stone to achieve this goal. ILO Convention 138 makes clear the linkages between the elimination of child labour and access...

    Child labour and Education for all
    1. Download
  15. News 14 October 2013

    ETUCE Conference on Solidarity for Healthy and Safe Workplaces in the Crisis

    At the closing conference of the ETUCE Project “Teacher Trade Unions in Solidarity for Healthy and Safe Workplaces in the Economic Crisis” in Madrid on 10-11 October 2013, more than 50 representatives from European teacher trade unions discussed policy recommendations on how to promote healthy and safe working conditions in...

    ETUCE Conference on Solidarity for Healthy and Safe Workplaces in the Crisis
  16. News 14 October 2013

    ETUCE Comittee Meeting

    The ETUCE Committee meeting has been held in Brussels on 23-24 October 2013. The yearly meeting of the Standing Committee for Equality has been held in conjunction with the ETUCE Committee meeting, on Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 October 2013 and has elected the new Chair and Vice-chairs of the...

    ETUCE Comittee Meeting
  17. News 14 October 2013

    GPE launches campaign to get every child into school

    The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) has announced plans to raise billions of dollars as part of its replenishment campaign to help educate 57 million children who are currently not in school.

    GPE launches campaign to get every child into school