Aligning the Right to Education with the Sustainable Development Goals: Is it Just About Finance?

ABSTRACT:The realization of a global, inclusive, nondiscriminatory, and quality education as a human right requires significant financing from developed stakeholders, as well as sustained commitment in developing states through the mobilization of domestic resources. Realigning the right to education against such targets is envisaged in the framework of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4). This paper demonstrates that despite financial pledges, which in many instances have materialized, only a handful of countries are on target to achieve the aims of SDG4 by 2030, with many developed states falling drastically behind. Although financing is key to achieving SDG4, inclusivity is not high on states’ agendas because of the imbalance of resources required to reach women and girls and the marginalized and impoverished as opposed to those living in urban centers and the middle class. The paper suggests that global financing for SDG4 should equally be aligned with efforts to reduce sovereign debt to such a degree that allows states to fund education without fear of being in default of their arrears. Ultimately, SDG4 should be the common concerns of all states because of the benefits to the entire international community.