ABSTRACT
Education is one of the fundamental objectives of development and has the potential to improve economic and social quality of life. Together with improvements in health, another type of human capital, investment in education helps people escape poverty and hunger and expands human “capability to function.” This chapter evaluates the progress achieved toward implementing Sustainable Development Goal 4. It begins with a brief overview of the conceptual development of this goal during the last several decades. The chapter addresses the current challenges and ensures a more robust movement toward ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for all. The international community had not actively pursued education as a universal developmental goal until the end of the 20th century, when social science findings and empirical evidence had started to indicate stagnating schooling rates and startling gender disparities, especially in poorer regions.
