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You've probably heard your parents say: "You're not learning for school, but for life." And that's right: for personal development, lifelong learning is worth its weight in gold. Economy and society are constantly evolving - high-quality education provides you with the basis to face social changes and new challenges. For a sustainable future, education is the basic prerequisite for fighting poverty and inequality, sustainable economic growth and social development. Yet despite much progress in making education accessible to all, it remains a privilege denied to many. SDG 4 "Quality education" addresses this challenge and aims to ensure access to education and thus promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
You are not only learning for school or for your life, but also for a sustainable world
You enjoyed schooling in kindergarten, received multilingual and multicultural training and were given education in primary and secondary school, and potentially earned a high-school diploma? Those who have grown up in a country with a good education system have the opportunity to make use of the educational offer to lead a self-determined and fulfilled life.
For the global community, the importance of education is that it is the key to a sustainable future: there will be no equality of opportunity, no hope for eradicating hunger and poverty, no preservation or restoration of natural habitats, no safe and healthy living, and no stopping climate change - without access to education, for all.
Fortunately, humanity has never been as educated as it is today:
- In the last two hundred years, global education has developed rapidly. This is reflected in the global literacy rate, which is above 50% in all countries outside Africa.
- In addition, significant progress has been made in equal access to education for boys and girls worldwide over the past decades: Between 2000 and 2018, the number of girls of primary school age not in school decreased by 44% globally, from 57 million to 32 million.
- The contributions of non-state actors are also worth mentioning; without them, states would be responsible for the education of 350 million more children.
Education - a human right that is still denied to many
But despite all the global improvements, there is still a long way to go to achieve equal and universal access to education for all - regardless of social class, gender, age and country of origin:
- The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened inequalities in access to education: in April 2020, 1.6 billion children - more girls than boys - were out of school.
- 750 million adults are illiterate - two-thirds of whom are female.
- Nearly 260 million children around the world still lack access to education.
The need for education may vary from region to region: In developing countries, it is of fundamental importance to ensure that children and young people have access to basic education. In developed countries, given changing population structures and the transition to a climate-neutral and digitised economy, it is increasingly important to provide appropriate education (retraining and continuing education opportunities) that train people to become skilled, well-educated and adaptable workers.
How does education become fit for the future?
The world is an increasingly complex place and the challenges in the education system will continue to grow. Companies from the education sector, which we have selected for the radiTheme "Quality education", offer future-oriented solutions here. They promote knowledge dissemination through
E-Learning, the construction and management of educational facilities and infrastructure, the promotion of early learning, financing services for education or innovative educational programs that teach on current topics. This will help create more equal access to affordable and quality education for all.
Invest your money in an industry with high social benefit
Education takes you further in life. Still, not everyone has equal access to quality education - even in developed countries, this situation has not yet been achieved. The education sector is doing its part to close this education gap.
Investing in the growing education sector pays off double, because you get the opportunity to invest in a growing market that also has a high social benefit.
We at radicant have developed an investment solution for this topic. With us you can invest in "High Quality Education" and thereby in companies that offer solutions to achieve SDG 4.
Be part of the solution!
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