Quality Education
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
Goal 4 focuses on access, quality, equity and lifelong learning. Its targets span primary and secondary education, early childhood development, technical and tertiary education, skills for work, equal access, literacy, education for sustainable development, safe learning environments, scholarships and qualified teachers.
What Goal 4 covers
N4SF groups the main policy areas from the official UN targets into this diagram for easier reading.
Goal 4 target list
Below are the United Nations targets for SDG 4.
By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes
By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education
By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university
By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship
By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations
By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy
By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development
Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all
By 2020, substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States and African countries, for enrolment in higher education, including vocational training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and scientific programmes, in developed countries and other developing countries
By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing States
Global goals become practical through local decisions.
The SDGs overlap across local housing, infrastructure, public services, environmental quality, economic opportunity and community participation. A single neighborhood decision can relate to several goals at the same time.
United Nations materials: N4SF uses the official SDG icons in accordance with United Nations guidance. The United Nations has not approved or endorsed this N4SF content, and it does not represent the views of the United Nations, its officials or Member States.