Dashboard map for 2022 SDG Index Goal #4 ratings. Data source: sdgindex.org
Participation rate in pre-primary organized learning (% of children aged 4 to 6)
This indicator defines pre-primary as one year before primary school entry.
Over the past decade, based on research, the recognition has grown as to the importance of early childhood education as among the most important for a child's development to help them thrive later in life.
Many of the countries off-track for the indicator are LDCs - the same countries off-track for the following indicators for primary and secondary schooling. More striking however are the middle-income countries off-track, in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as several post-Soviet states.
Summary:
For OECD country readers, annually give 0.7% of your gross income as aid, aiming for all children aged 4-6 to participate in pre-primary organised learning by 2030.
For developing country readers off-track with children aged 4 to 6, enter your child in early childhood education, where available and affordable.
Net primary enrollment rate (%)
This indicator measures the percentage of school-age kids enrolled in primary school, consistent with the singular target of MDG #2, aiming for 100% enrollment by 2030.
For MDG #2, the aim from the previous 15-year period preceding the SDGs focused upon universal primary education, which reached a primary school net enrolment rate in the developing regions of 91% by 2015. This was an increase of 8% from the beginning of the millennium, with a 20% rise in sub-Saharan Africa during the same period, but still leaving 57 million primary school aged children out of school worldwide in 2015.
As we saw above, the gap to 100% primary enrolment is small, though still in the tens of millions in total numbers. The countries facing major challenges on this indicator are consistent with the Sahel, as well as Syria and neighbouring Jordan, the latter in likelihood due to the presence of Syrian refugees.
Will aid alone make for a 100% net primary enrolment? If we regard the countries with major challenges for this indicator, there are other factors at play, complicating the path to universal primary enrolment e.g., disease, cultural attitudes toward girls’ education, and effects of climate change. As with all issues we’re looking at, each application in a different culture and environment entails trial and error, with the MDG period displaying the challenges facing development in sub-Saharan Africa.
Summary:
For OECD country readers, affirm your annual commitment to give 0.7% of your gross income as aid, aiming for 100% net primary enrolment rate by 2030.
For developing country readers with school age children, enrol your child in primary education, where affordable and available.
Lower secondary completion rate (%)
Here, the distinction is made between enrolment to completion, in this case lower secondary, rather than primary, again aiming for 100% by 2030. The 2020 world total shows a rate of 77% lower secondary school completion.
Lower secondary is the seventh to ninth years of education, with completion of the ninth year classified as ‘basic education’. Upper secondary education begins in the tenth year of education, before any tertiary education. Lower secondary education is a human right, enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by every UN member state except the USA.
You know by now what you must do if you’re a reader from a DAC member on behalf of the LDC countries with major challenges remaining on this indicator. But what of the middle-income countries? Many of the middle-income countries scoring red for this indicator are on the DAC’s List of ODA Recipients, and there are segments of the population in these countries affected by extreme poverty.
What if you’re a reader from a middle-income country, and your national government fails to ensure your right to accessible and available education, per the Convention on the Rights of the Child?
We all must observe this treaty on behalf of children, obliged to act in their best interests. This means to attempt to provide for your child’s basic needs, to ensure a life of opportunity and social mobility. Anything short of the completion of a basic education (primary and lower secondary education) risks dislocating your child from society.
Summary:
For OECD country readers, affirm your annual commitment to give 0.7% of your gross income as aid, aiming for a 100% lower secondary completion rate.
For developing country readers:
For parents with children enrolled in lower secondary education, ensure your child completes lower secondary.
For adults yet to complete basic education, complete lower secondary education.
Literacy rate (% of population aged 15 to 24)
The definition of literacy for ages 15 to 24 is the ability to read and write a short, simple statement on everyday life, with an understanding of this statement, aiming for 100% literacy by 2030.
We know from our Goal #4 results that LDCs have major challenges remaining, and we know the remedy for the LDCs on this indicator.
Pakistan, a middle-income country, should have a literacy rate above LDC countries. Pakistan’s Constitution codifies the obligation for the state to provide free and compulsory education for all. Yet 22.8 million children, or 44% of the population of school age, are out of school. How do the Pakistani government expect to see any economic growth with such a dismal literacy rate?
Regional differences are one reason, as is gender, a phenomenon popularised by Malala Yousafzai. Pakistan’s north-western border region with Afghanistan offered refuge to the Taliban insurgency, along with their accompanying attitudes toward female education. Further, literacy in the tribal areas of this region is low compared to the country’s metropolises, and national government spending on education is a disappointing 2.9%.
In a country with widespread illiteracy, can prosperity be around the corner, or ever be in reach? Pakistan is an Islamic republic (which differs from a theocracy), combined with a patriarchal societal structure. Pakistan thus leaves half of society on the sideline, when it could be participating in the economy, and educated to a tertiary level, beyond mere literacy.
Addressing any Pakistani readers, I acknowledge 5% of Pakistanis live below the international poverty line of $1.90 a day. This country, with a population nearing a quarter of a trillion, is wanting. Yet the escalator to even a modicum of meeting basic needs, as well as climate change resilience, is education. Without advancing on Goal #4, Pakistan holds the potential to find itself in a similar standard of living in decades to come.
The nature of the country’s values places Islamic principles central, as the state religion, per the Constitution. Pakistani laws must be in harmony with the Quran, and the traditions and practices of Muhammad via constitutional bodies. Yet the government of Pakistan must weigh the advice of these, whilst considering its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The same applies to Pakistani citizens. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrines freedom of religion. Two other UN member states are Islamic republics, and a little under 30 UN member states explicate Islam as the state religion within their respective constitutions. Each UN member state must balance their respective state religion with being a party to international treaties. If you’re a Pakistani parent of a child, there is a need to compromise. This may mean acknowledging the limitations of your own education. Enquire within yourself whether those who’ve passed their wisdom on to you could be of a limited education themselves. Humans are fallible, even well-intentioned pious people.
If you find yourself in this scenario, you have a choice to make, which might place you between your religion and the importance of literacy and education. You may perceive the two as incompatible. If you were God, setting the precepts for the humans you created, would you inscribe into the programming of life to keep half of your creations in depravity of knowledge? I expect you’d have the sense to blanch at any belief suggesting as much. You believe in a God who wants the best for everyone. Any suggestion otherwise is due to the interpretation passed down by fallible humans.
Summary: For OECD country readers, affirm your annual commitment to give 0.7% of your gross income as aid, aiming for a 100% literacy rate of the global population aged 15-24 by 2030.
Tertiary educational attainment (% of population aged 25-34) *
Most OECD countries are close to on track for this indicator, aiming for 52.2% of the population aged between 25 and 34 to complete some tertiary education i.e., universities and vocational schools, resulting in an academic certificate, diploma or degree.
If you’re in a country with challenges remaining for this indicator, and between the ages of 25 and 34, consider applying for and completing some tertiary education. Even a certificate at a vocational school ought to provide valuable skills to boost your income in the workforce.
Summary: For readers in countries off-track, aged 25 to 34, complete tertiary education, aiming for 52.2% of the national population aged 25-34 to attain tertiary education by 2030.
PISA Score (worst 0-600 best) *
PISA is the Programme for International Student Assessment, an initiative of the OECD. PISA assesses 15-year-old school students by a standardised test, showing how these students are approaching the end of their compulsory, basic education in lower secondary school. The fields assessed are mathematics, science and reading, averaged to give the PISA score. The 2030 aim for national PISA scores is 525.6, out of the best score of 600.
The Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, and the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang topped all three categories, followed by Singapore in all three categories. Macau, a Chinese city, placed third in all categories, with nearby Hong Kong fourth for mathematics and reading. This strong representation by China is notable for a developing country, in contrast to an OECD country.
The OECD countries off-track are middle-income countries, therefore for parents of 15-year-olds in these countries, encourage your children to focus on their academic performance.
Summary: For readers in countries off-track, who are parents of a child who will be 15-years-old at the time of the next PISA in 2025, encourage your child’s academic performance, aiming for a national PISA score of 525.6.
Variation in science performance explained by socio-economic status (%) *
This indicator measures the extent a student is doing poor in science class because of low socioeconomic status. The long-term objective for the indicator is an 8.3% variation or less in science achievement on the PISA explained by socio-economic status.
What can we expect to see at the lower end of the income and wealth spectrum within a country? Members of the household may be at greater risk of mental illness and/or substance abuse. If a caregiver is in poor health, it's probable to have detrimental effects on a student’s educational attainment. Economic inequality has many negative effects, among them spillover effects on population health. Poorer households may have different parenting styles, sometimes characterised by fewer instances of joint attention in a learning environment. Some households in OECD countries may be lacking an internet connection, a car, a quiet place to study, or a desk and books for schoolwork. All these can hinder a fertile environment in the home for parents to interact with their children and foster learning.
Two countries scored red for this indicator - France and Hungary. The variation in socioeconomic status on science performance for both these countries was 20% - in France's case, a gap of 108 points out of a PISA best score of 600. This is believed to be due to disadvantaged 15-year-olds having lower ambition relative to their academic performance. Only four-fifths in this category expect to complete tertiary education compared to high-achieving, advantaged counterparts - the same being true in Hungary.
In Hungary’s instance, it could be due to the structure of the secondary education model of selective schools, a model shared with neighbouring countries scoring orange for the indicator e.g., Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Czech and Slovak Republic’s, and Switzerland.
The abovementioned European countries divide their secondary education system into gymnasium schools and vocational schools to train students for a trade. Students who’ve completed the ninth year of compulsory education can then join the workforce. We can see how a student from a working-class background may believe themselves to feel destined along this path, or otherwise may relate closer to an aptitude for a vocational trade familiar within their family, and may perceive little incentive to perform well in science.
This may be limiting in some countries though, as the demand for a labour force steeped in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) rewards these disciplines with wages and profits. What does this imply about the many streams of secondary education i.e., gymnasium schools and vocational schools? Does it disincentivize scientific performance for lower socioeconomic students? It's possible, if we look at the countries that are off-track for this indicator, yet many of these are the same countries doing best on the SDG Index overall. Furthermore, some European countries using the gymnasium model are on track for this indicator e.g., Finland.
Following lower secondary education in a collège, the French equivalent of the gymnasium is the lycée, in preparation for the baccalauréat . Within the baccalauréat, there are three streams divided by academic discipline, as well as the alternative of the vocational school for apprenticeships. In Hungary, the gymnasium system prevails in preparation for university, as well as ‘secondary vocational school’ and ‘vocational school’.
Summary: For readers in countries off-track:
who are parents of a child who will be 15-years-old at the time of the next PISA in 2025, and are at the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum in your country, encourage your child’s academic performance in science
of high socioeconomic status, seek out a charity operating within your country focused on supporting education for those of low-socioeconomic status
Underachievers in science (% of 15-year-olds) *
This indicator measures the portion of students scoring below level 2 in the PISA for the science component, equal to 409.54 points out of the total 600. The aim by 2030 is for 10% or fewer OECD country students to score less than 409.5 points on the next PISA in 2025.
What if you live in an OECD country off-track, and suspect your child, who will be 15-years-old at the time of the next science PISA in 2025, may have a learning disability or ADHD? Consult a GP or paediatrician, in consultation with your child’s school. See if special attention in the classroom can remedy potential setbacks, and if the health and education system offer access to extra resources.
Summary: For readers in countries off-track, who are parents of a child who will be 15 years old at the time of the next PISA in 2025:
encourage your child’s academic performance in science
if symptoms of a learning disability or ADHD exist, seek a diagnosis with a GP or paediatrician, in consultation with your child’s school to seek special attention in the classroom