Date: April 23, 2022

Name: ADELOU M. DAJAN

Study of the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030

On this topic, we are going to study and learn the view of the UN on
sustainability development goals 2030. But first we are going to learn the terms
used for us to understand the topic. When we talk about development it refers to
the advancement or growth of a certain individual, organization or sectors in our
society. In education, if we can look at the timeline, there is a rapid positive
development. Today, ware now using the advancement of technology to address
or to cater the needs of the education sector. Likewise, in education,
sustainability refers to the assistance or support from the administrators towards
the stakeholders. Moreover, as the word develops, it is experiencing social and
environmental problems. Globalization results inequality among the people. The
UN addressed this problems by giving a solution called sustainable development.
Sustainable development is a development that meets the need of the present
without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their own
needs. Development is necessary in order to achieve basically a harmonious and
comfortable life. It must be for all and for all future generation including the
environment. Upgrading production tool to use less environmental energy but
also create productivity and value are being implemented. Furthermore,
companies should make economic environmental friendly products, employee-
centered working environments, products that are accessible to all including the
marginalized and monitoring the working condition of the suppliers and
contractors to minimize risk. Because of this, companies have an economic, social
and environmental responsibilities. This means that their developmental success
is sustainable. The UN come up with a specific solutions to tackle developmental
issues and concerns. This is the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 or SDG and
the Millennium Development Goals or MDG. They identified 17 sustainable
development goals. These goals are meant to end poverty for all, freedom from
hunger, health and wellbeing, quality of education, gender equality, clean water
and sanitation, sustainable energy for all, decent work and economic
development, innovation and infrastructure, reducing inequalities, sustainable
cities and communities, sustainable consumption and production, action on
climate change, healthy oceans, sustainable ecosystem, peace and justice, and
global partnership. In order to apply these SDGs, there are four key principle to be
followed. First, it must be universal. It must be applicable for all. Second, it must
be sustainable. It should not comprise the economic development, social progress
and environment protection. Third, it must include all. No one must be left
behind. All goals should be met for everyone especially the least privileged.
Fourth, it must be participated by all sectors in the society. Sine we are in the
educational sector, we mainly focus on SDG number 4 which is quality education.
According to a study, 103 million young person worldwide lack or without of basic
literacy skills and 60% of this are women. Since it is quite a big number, if we can
address this issue, it will really make a big difference. There are numbers of ways
to solve this problem. One, is to ensure children to complete primary and
secondary free education. Second, to eliminate gender inequality and give equal
access for all to all levels of education. Third, to provide safe inclusive and
effective learning environment. Fourth, to increase scholarship for students from
developing countries. Last, is to increase the number of teachers from developing
countries. On the other hand, in the Philippines, we have also the same problem
about the lack of basic literacy. One of the main reasons for this is poverty and
incompetent teachers. In addressing this issue, the Department of Education
wants to maximize the proposed budget of 551.7 billion pesos to address the
problem of quality education. With this budget, DepEd hopes to provide quality
education by giving promotions to the teachers and an additional allocation
budget of 1.48 billion for additional teaching and non-teaching positions.
To sum up, because of the massive capitalism and industrialization, it
creates a large gap between the rich and the poor. It also compromises the
environment. It also affects the learning development of the children. Because of
this, the world leaders convene and formulate solutions to address this problem.
The proposed solution is called Sustainable Development Goals 2030 or SDG. It is
a development to cater the needs of the present without compromising the
needs of the future generation. It compels companies to have a social, economic
and environmental responsibility. They narrow it down to 17 sustainable goals.
One of these is quality education. In the Philippines, lack or without basic literacy
skill are still pervasive. The government tries to address the issues and problems
faced by the DepEd. It has given allocated budget to ensure the quality education
for all. But the problem still exists. Especially nowadays that there is a pandemic.
There is a learning gap between face to face class and modular or online classes.
That is why DepEd tries to persuade the government to add additional budget for
additional teaching and non-teaching positions. The government are still doing its
effort to do its part to address concerns, issues and problems encountered by the
DepEd.
According to the Philippine Statistic Authority, about 91.6 percent Filipinos
10 to 64 years old were functional literate in 2019, according to the results of the
2019 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS). This
translates to around 73.0 million out of 79.7 million in the same age group who
are considered literate on a functional level. According to SIL Philippines, although
the Philippines has a basic literacy rate of more than 88.5%, pockets of illiteracy
remain. According to the Department of Education, there are more than 1 million
pre-literates in the country and more than 6 million people are deemed to be
functionally illiterate. Many of these are found among the indigenous cultural
communities. So the problem still remains. This results widens because of the
pandemic. Learning becomes difficult because of this problem. Lockdowns,
closing of the majority of the establishments, loss of jobs, high rates of people
being hospitalized, deaths, and suspensions of classes are the effects of this
pandemic. But according to www.povertyactionlab.org, DepEd recognizes the
challenges in delivering alternative learning modalities to 27.7 million basic
education students. Given the challenges of distance learning and unequal access
to resources, poor-performing and marginalized students may fall further behind.
According to www.unicef.org, UNICEF urges governments to reopen schools for
in-person learning as soon as possible, and to provide a comprehensive recovery
response for students. Together with the World Bank and UNESCO, UNICEF is
calling for governments to focus on three key priorities for recovery in schools:
Targeted programs to bring all children and youth back in school where they can
access tailored services to meet their learning, health, psychosocial well-being,
and other needs; Effective remedial learning to help students catch up on lost
learning; Support for teachers to address learning losses and incorporate digital
technology into their teaching.
In my personal opinion, in the school level, as an administrator in a certain
school, he must see to it that certain improvements must cater the needs of the
stakeholders without compromising the environment and the future
stakeholders. For example, in building infrastructures, it must be well planned to
promote an eco-friendly structure, conducive for learning and strong enough to
provide safety and child friendly structure. Another example, financial budgetary
allowance of a school is very limited, so the administrator should spend the
money allocated for the necessary and practical expenditures. The administrators
must also be gender, racial and culture sensitive. The school must be available to
all learners despite their status, age, gender preference, race and culture.
Education must be available to all. In my experience, if there is no available tools
in helping the learning process of the learners, our principal seek the help of the
NGOs, some private sectors or those groups or individuals who have the financial
capacity to support the school’s needs. On the other hand, teachers must equip
themselves with the necessary tools to promote learning and to strive to achieve
the objectives of each lesson and the goals of the school. They should utilize the
technological advancement, attend trainings and seminars, and educate
themselves to upgrade or enhance more knowledge.
In this pandemic, I think the government most especially the DepEd are
striving to address issues and problems encountered by the educators and
stakeholders. The solutions are very limited because they have to follow the
certain protocols issued by the IATF and the local governments. Because of this
administrators, teachers and parents must expeditiously do their responsibilities
and to remain committed towards their duties to narrow down the learning gap
caused by the pandemic. We must also do our part to help the government and
the DepEd by following health protocols and motivating our learners to learn
despite the pandemic.