Education for sustainable development in the framework
of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
A/RES/74/223
Noting with concern that, despite the considerable progress on education access
and participation over the past years, 262 million children and youth aged 6 to 17
were still out of school in 2017, more than half of children and adolescents are not
meeting minimum proficiency standards in reading and mathematics and, while rapid
technological changes present opportunities and challenges, the learning
environment, the capacities of teachers and the quality of education have not kept
pace, and refocused efforts are needed to improve learning outcomes for the full life
cycle, especially for women, girls and people in vulnerable situations, 1
Reaffirming the commitment made in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development to ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to
promote sustainable development, including through ed ucation for sustainable
development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality and the
empowerment of all women and girls, the promotion of a culture of peace and
non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s
contribution to sustainable development,
Reaffirming also its resolution 69/313 of 27 July 2015 on the Addis Ababa
Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Developme nt,
which is an integral part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, supports
and complements it, helps to contextualize its means of implementation targets with
concrete policies and actions, and reaffirms the strong political commitment to
address the challenge of financing and creating an enabling environment at all levels
for sustainable development in the spirit of global partnership and solidarity,
Acknowledging the importance for achieving sustainable development of
delivering quality education to all girls and boys, which will require reaching children
living in extreme poverty and rural areas, children with disabilities, migrant and refugee
children and those in conflict and post-conflict situations, indigenous people and
children in vulnerable situations and providing safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective
learning environments for all, and recognizing the importance of scaling up investments
and international cooperation to allow all children to complete free, equitable, inclusive
and quality early childhood, primary and secondary education leading to relevant and
effective learning outcomes, including by scaling up and strengthening initiatives, such
as the Global Partnership for Education, and by upgrading education facilities that are
child-, disability- and gender-sensitive and increasing the percentage of qualified
teachers in developing countries, including through international cooperation,
especially in the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, small
island developing States and middle-income countries,
Recognizing that, despite gains in providing access to education, girls are still
more likely than boys to remain excluded fro m education owing to gendered barriers,
Acknowledging the importance of ensuring that all children, youth and adults
achieve literacy and numeracy skills by 2030,
Acknowledging also the importance of adopting science, technology and
innovation strategies as integral elements of national sustainable development
strategies to help to strengthen knowledge-sharing and collaboration and the
importance of scaling up investments in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics and digital literacy education and enhancing technical, vocational and
tertiary education, distance education and training and of ensuring equal access for
women and girls and encouraging their participation therein,
__________________
1
2/6
See the report of the Secretary-General: special edition – progress towards the Sustainable
Development Goals (E/2019/68), Goal 4 “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and
promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”.
19-22492