The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which shaped the international development agenda from 2000 to 2015 included the target to ‘Achieve Universal Primary Education’. The deadline for that goal passed and yet, according to the #UpForSchool campaign, in 2015 ‘59 million children [did not] go to primary school – and hundreds of millions more are not learning.’¹

Building on the MDGs, Sustainable Development Goal 4 aims to finish the work of having all boys and girls complete primary education. However, it goes significantly beyond this target – it also aims to give universal secondary education to children, improve access to universities, educate adults, provide vocational training and educate in global citizenship.

This is an ambitious goal and it will require much change! UN data shows²:

• Enrolment in primary education in developing countries has reached 91 per cent but 57 million children remain out of school.
• More than half of children that have not enrolled in school live in sub‐Saharan Africa.
• An estimated 50 per cent of out‐of‐school children of primary school age live in conflict‐affected areas.
• 103 million youth worldwide lack basic literacy skills, and more than 60 per cent of these are women.

God has created humankind with the ability to understand the world in which we have been placed. He has made some of himself and his plans for life discoverable by exercising our minds. In Genesis the first human is specifically tasked to give names to creation and to work it:

‘The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it … Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.’ (Genesis 2:15 and 19).

It is our privilege and our duty to walk through the world with our eyes open. We are made not simply to be another animal within the body of nature but to shape creation in partnership with God. We are to learn how to tend gardens, how to make food, how to cook it, how to fix our bodies with medicine and how to care for each other with love.

Not everyone needs to be a doctor or a farmer, but when we are unable to give our fellow human beings access to the full opportunities of education we deprive them of the ability to participate fully in God’s design for human life. More than that, we rob our communities of the insight these people can give us. According to the United Nations:

'[Education] contributes to fostering peace, democracy and economic growth as well as improving health and reducing poverty. Education beats poverty … promotes gender equality … reduces child mortality … contributes to improved maternal health … helps combat HIV, malaria and other preventable diseases … encourages environmental sustainability … [and] helps global development.'³

This is not to say that education is going to save the world. We cannot learn much about creation while ignoring the creator and some knowledge is too wonderful for us to attain. Education is not to replace a trust in God. Still, when we learn about and explore our world with God we find that it all points to him.

 

 

• God is the source of all knowledge. Proverbs 1:7 begins: ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge'. Proverbs 3:5 states: ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding’.
• John 8:31‐32 tells us of Jesus' words: '"If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."'
• The Lord, speaking to Moses in Exodus 31:2‐3 says: ''“See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills"'.

• All educators, headteachers/principal, administrators, school caretakers, cooks and coaches and others who help us to gain education. Ask that God would give them strength, wisdom and rest as they work to increase our understanding.
• Those who do not have access to the education they need, whether that is basic primary education, vocational knowledge or academic work. May they get access to the opportunities they need in order to progress and to lead fulfilling lives.
• World leaders who decide and influence education policy, and for those working to improve access to education. May they have understanding of the benefits learning brings.
• That God would reveal areas in your life where you may seek greater understanding of his creation. Pray that he would give you wisdom.

• Demonstrate a commitment to education in practice. Volunteer in mentoring, education and training programmes and help young people and adults looking to develop new skills.
• Donate books that you might have to your local school. This supports the community in a practical way and makes good use of old resources without spending any money.
• Help out at your local school, such as by joining the parent‐teacher association (or local equivalent) or in the role of school governor. Supporting institutions in this way allows the community to give good guidance on policy, aims and objectives; to be invested in the eduction of local families; and to be part of helping to ensure the best education possible for all.
• Keep yourself educated ‐ through reading, online research, courses, online learning, and by challenging yourself to learn new skills.

Tags: SDG4: Quality Education