JICA’s Position Paper on SDGs: Goal 4

Goal 4 Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote

lifelong learning opportunities for all.

1. Understanding of the present situation

(1) Why is it necessary to support education?

Around the world, 58 million primary school-age children still remain out of school.
More than half of them are girls, and 36% of them are in conflict-affected and fragile
countries (UNESCO, 2015). Regarding quality of education, at least 250 million
children worldwide, nearly 40% of the primary school-age children, are thought to
have failed to acquire basic literacy and numeracy skills (UNESCO, 2014). Disparities
in school attendance and learning due to the factors associated with poverty, gender,
disability, ethnicity, language and residential areas, make it an urgent priority to
guarantee that all children receive quality education irrespective of their backgrounds.
To cope with a rapid improvement in the ratio of children receiving primary education,
it is also essential to expand and improve pre-primary education and secondary
education.

Youth unemployment has been on an upward trend. 225 million young people have
neither entered school, nor received vocational training nor in employment (ILO,
2014). To address youth unemployment, it is necessary to expand access to technical
and vocational education and training and improve their quality.

While access to higher education has been steadily improving (enrolment in

developing countries was 16% in 2004 and 29% in 2014; UNESCO, 2015), the pace
of developing the teaching force, upgrading educational facilities and equipment, and
securing research funds is lagging behind, leaving significant challenges in terms of
the quality of higher education and research.

(2) Japan’s efforts

Recognizing the importance of education as the basis of national development, Japan

amassed extensive experience in advancing science and industrial development
through both comprehensive and gradual educational development especially since
the start of the modernization process in the Meiji era.

Based on this experience, Japan has actively engaged in educational cooperation. In

“Learning Strategy for Peace and Growth” published in September 2015, Japan
adopted a policy that places a strong emphasis on educational cooperation for
inclusive and equitable quality education, for human resource development conducive
to industrial and scientific/technological development, and for sustainable social and
economic development. In “Development Strategy for Gender Equality and Women’s
Empowerment” published in May 2016, Japan also put its focus on the promotion and
strengthening of girls’ education as the foundation on which each and every individual
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can fulfil their own potential.

(3) JICA’s strength

Joining forces with its counterparts in partner countries, JICA is working on education
improvements from down at the school level up to policy formulation discourse, and is
promoting and replicating good practices nationwide.

Also, in addition to supporting engineering universities, JICA has endeavored to

create a knowledge network to facilitate student exchange within regions and joint
research projects to identify solutions to the issues commonly faced by countries in
Asia, Africa and other regions.

Since 2000, JICA has built more than 5,500 primary and secondary schools in 46
countries, trained 870,000 teachers in 42 countries, and improved school-based
management at 62,000 schools in 16 countries. Working with partners in the industrial
sector, JICA also executed 50 human resource development projects in 27 countries
involving support of 30 engineering universities in 17 countries and accepted 12,000
students from abroad (JICA, 2015).

2. Priority targets

Education is a fundamental right, innate to all people. Education is a powerful engine

for sustainable growth and plays a significant role as an enabler in achieving all the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Nurturing respect for diversity and different
values through education lays a solid foundation for inclusive and peaceful societies.

In achieving the seven targets of Goal 4, JICA prioritizes the following points in its
operations:

Targets which JICA will focus based on JICA’s strength

▪ 4.1 Completion of free, equitable, and quality primary and secondary

education for all girls and boys
▪ 4.3 Equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality
technical, vocational, and tertiary education, including university

Targets which JICA will tackle with enthusiasm based on the importance of
children’s long-term development

▪ 4.2 Quality early childhood development and care, and pre-primary

education for all girls and boys

Cross-sectoral targets which JICA will tackle in all projects

▪ 4.5 Eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access

to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable
▪ 4.7 Acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable

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 development

Targets which JICA will tackle according to country or regional issues

▪ 4.4 Increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills
necessary for employment, decent job and entrepreneurship
▪ 4.6 Achieve literacy and numeracy of all youth and adults, both men
and women

3. Priority efforts to achieve the goals

Taking a holistic view of the education sector, ranging from pre-primary, primary and
secondary, to technical and vocational education and training, higher education and
non-formal education, JICA supports the partner countries to realize quality “Learning
Continuity” to meet each individual’s learning needs.

JICA will promote “Mutual Learning” on a global scale, beyond countries and
regions, to solve global issues through seminars and joint research, based on
analysis and sharing of the experience and expertise gained from its cooperation.
JICA will create innovative solutions collaboratively by linking diverse stakeholders,
such as private sector, universities, research institutes, and NGOs.

(1) Improvement in children’s learning

JICA will support partner countries’ efforts to support children not only acquire the
basic skills, such as literacy and numeracy, but also the ability to learn and think
independently and enhance their motivation for continuous learning. JICA will also pay
attention to consistency and coherence between curriculum, textbooks, teaching and
learning materials, lessons, and assessment and support, for, among others, the
following activities:

▪ Curriculum development and revision

▪ Improvement of assessment
▪ Improvement of pre-service and in-service teacher training
▪ Promotion of mutual learning among teachers through lesson study
▪ Support for development of textbooks, teachers’ guides, and teaching &
learning materials
▪ Improvement of school-based management through community participation
▪ Strengthening of educational administration
▪ Improvement of the learning environment through construction of educational
facilities

Regarding pre-primary education, JICA will strengthen its support in cooperation with
the health sector related to early childhood development and care, placing importance
on “learning through playing” and look into scaling up the level of cooperation with
primary schools.

(2) Human resource development for science, technology and innovation, and

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 industrial development

To solve complicated social issues and realize sustainable economic growth, it is

necessary to foster human resources that encourage science, technology and
innovation. In the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM),
JICA will not only support the acquisition of each student’s basic mathematical and
scientific abilities in primary and secondary education, but strengthen the education
and research capacity of each country’s leading engineering universities and develop
human resources so that trained personnel can lead research projects, product
design and development. JICA will also actively develop scholarship programs in
Africa, Asia, and Oceania to support human resource development so that trained
personnel will lead the educational and industrial development of their home country,
strengthen the relationship with Japan, and contribute to the overall development of
their country.

Highly trained engineers and technicians with versatile skill sets, such as the practical
application of technical skills, a high standard of work ethics, and collaborative
teamwork, are indispensable for a country’s industrial development, which is a major
driving force behind economic growth. Through technical and vocational education
and training, JICA will support the training of engineers and technicians who can
flexibly and skillfully meet the changing needs of the private sector. By expanding the
access to technical and vocational education and training and improving its quality,
JICA will also support the partners’ efforts to address the issues of youth
unemployment and to create decent work.

(3) Education for building inclusive and peaceful societies

JICA will increase its efforts to reach socially and culturally vulnerable and
disadvantage populations strengthen including the poor, girls and women, people with
disabilities, ethnic minorities and those affected by conflict or natural disasters. At the
same time, JICA promotes poverty-, gender- and disability-sensitive approaches to
prevent education from reproducing existing inequalities.

From the viewpoints of disabilities and education, JICA will make firm efforts for
inclusion of both the tangible and intangible aspects, such as the construction of
barrier-free educational facilities and the development of teaching and learning
materials and teaching methods that meet the specific individual learning needs.

Girls’ education is directly linked to women’s empowerment. It facilitates women’s

economic activities, and promotes gender equality within a society. Girls’ education
decreases premature marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth at a younger age and has
wide and positive effects in other sectors, such as a decrease in the maternal and
infant mortality rate, and an improvement in the status of children’s nutrition and
health. JICA will strengthen the provision of cooperation in girls’ education to reduce
gender disparities across the whole education sector, focusing on converged and
strengthened coordination with the health sector.

To the countries affected by conflicts or natural disasters, JICA will extend its support
to create a safer learning environment. JICA will also help administrative officials

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develop their capacity, through its scholarship programs, to become a driving force
behind post-disaster recovery and the development process.

In places where out-of-school children and the illiterate still face challenges, JICA will
broaden its partnership to child welfare/protection and vocational training in order to
provide non-formal education support in literacy and life skills.

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