u Eric Falt

Role of corporations in achieving SDGs

Corporations must play a role in co-creating a shared-future for all humanity

UNESCO has a tradition of re-envisioning education, at key historical junctures of societal transformation. From the 1972 Faure report that promoted the concept of ‘Learning to Be’ to the 1996 Delors Commission report that emphasised the importance of a humanistic approach to education and updated the concept of lifelong learning, UNESCO has played a key role in framing the big picture questions that drive the global debate on education.

Continuing that tradition, the International Commission on the Futures of Education led by UNESCO in its landmark report explored the regenerative potential of education in times of uncertainty and precarity. The report calls for a new social contract, grounded in human rights and values, required for education to build peaceful, just, and sustainable futures for all. It also recognises the need for urgent action to rebuild our relationships with each other, with the planet, and with technology, and outlines an agenda for transforming education.

For UNESCO, SDG-4 of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, which advocates for ‘inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all’, represents the core of the SDGs as it is both a goal in itself and a means for attaining the other goals. Not only is quality education an integral part of sustainable development, but it is also a key enabler for it. Therefore, making good progress on achieving SDG-4 targets is critical for achieving most other SDGs and stakeholders from all levels, including those from the private sector, must contribute to this endeavour.

In the context of India, the National Education Policy 2020 is a holistic, scientific and evidencebased framework that provides a robust foundation to address various challenges facing the Indian education ecosystem. Some of these include the quality of general education, school to work transition and the provision of work-based learning opportunities, the widening gender gap and the digital divide that disrupts the continuity of learning. Corporations and the private sector can play a role in tackling each of these challenges.

While India has made tremendous progress in improving access to school education, the quality and relevance of education must also be prioritized to ensure that children and students are actually learning and acquiring the knowledge, skills and competence to prepare them for the future. The 2018 Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) survey indicates that the average fifth grade student in India is at least two years behind in gradeappropriate learning. In addition to focusing on foundational learning, 21st century skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration must become integral elements of the curriculum for tomorrow’s learners.

So how can the private sector contribute towards improving the quality of education? Sparking pedagogical and curricular reforms through innovation, bringing efficiency and higher productivity in running government schools through public-private partnership models, and encouraging employees to volunteer as teachers, are only a few examples of how corporations could make a difference. When it comes to preparing youth for the world of work, corporations can engage more directly by offering high quality apprenticeship opportunities and providing master trainers and mentors who can provide guidance to young minds.

Another significant improvement in India relates to girls’ education. Although girls’ access to education has dramatically improved in the country over the last two decades, gender gap remains and tends to widen with rising levels of education. Dropout rates for girls in secondary school are much higher as compared to those of boys due to prevailing social norms and gender stereotypes. Evidence shows that hygiene and sanitation facilities play an important role in keeping girls in schools but physical infrastructure must be complemented with awareness and sensitisation programmes. Earlier this year, UNESCO New Delhi joined forces with Proctor and Gamble (P&G) to design and develop an awareness campaign along with teaching learning materials on puberty and period education, which would be integrated into the national and state school curriculum, and teacher education.

Digitalization and application of emerging technology is another important area where the private sector can contribute immensely. India is one of the fastest growing EdTech markets in the world garnering over $4 billion venture capital funding in 2021 alone and giving birth to several unicorn start-ups. However, these amazing gains must be translated into improving learning and socioemotional wellbeing of remote rural populations including the most vulnerable and marginalised, especially in the context of the pandemic which has deepened pre-existing education inequalities.

The EdTech corporations in India must come

E RIC F ALT

The author is Director

and UNESCO

Representative to Bhutan, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka

together and tackle the learning disruption by improving connectivity and availability of local language content but also preparing teachers to cope with virtual learning environments. UNESCO’s Global Education Coalition provides a good template for cross-sectoral collaboration with over 160 partners joining forces to mobilise financial and technical resources towards a unified response to the learning crisis.

Perhaps the most promising role that corporations could play in the coming decades would be to shape how Artificial Intelligence (AI) interacts with education. AI has the potential to enhance our understanding of the learning process by collecting and analysing very large datasets for learning patterns, pace, knowledge gaps, etc. At the same time, it could assist in the development of highly intelligent, adaptive, and personalised learning pathways for improved learning outcomes. AI can also empower teachers by automating administrative tasks, support formative assessments with instantaneous feedback, conduct remote proctoring, provide intelligent responses and remedial learning for students at the risk of falling behind.

Undoubtedly, AI offers enormous potential for creating impact by accelerating the progress towards achievement of SDG-4 targets. Yet it also raises fundamental questions about how technology will interact with learning in the future. We must pay close attention to the concerns of AI increasing bias, stereotyping, and discrimination in learning and remain critically aware of the limitations of AI. Otherwise, we run the risk of reinforcing existing power structures and problematic assumptions that tend to marginalise those who ‘perform’ learning differently than others.

As part of its mandate to support Member States in the development of robust, evidence-driven policies, UNESCO New Delhi has launched a series of annual State of Education Reports (SOER) for India. The upcoming 2022 SOER for India will focus on Artificial Intelligence in Education and cover many of these pertinent issues at the intersection of AI and education. The Report also aims to serve as a strategic policy tool for the Government of India and the education sector at large as it will highlight targeted recommendations for improved knowledge sharing.

Many of the cutting-edge applications of AI in education are being developed by the private sector which begs the question whether responsible, ethical, and human centred principles are followed in the design of such technologies. Deployment and use of AI in education must be guided by the core principles of inclusion and equity to ensure that technology is used for social welfare rather than adding only to private gains.

Just as business performance cannot be measured only in terms of profit and loss, progress on education goals is so much more than just measuring learning outcomes. In this regard, the commitment and buy-in of all partners is crucial for progress, and the private sector is an indispensable partner in achieving the larger 2030 agenda for sustainable development which goes above and beyond SDG-4. The novelty of SDGs lies in the creation of a shared narrative that all stakeholders can understand and engage with, from ordinary citizens to multinational corporations. As we progress towards the achievement of the 17 goals and 169 targets, it is important to reflect on some of the lessons and insights that have emerged so far.

First, the SDGs cannot be achieved without adequate funding. The current, annual investment gap stands at $2.5 trillion and it must be plugged if the global community is to make progress without leaving anyone behind. According to the

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimates, the private sector has the potential to bridge this gap by at least $0.9 trillion annually.

Second, it is important to understand the linkages between and among the global goals that cut across social, economic, and environmental spheres. Efficient and robust implementation of SDGs would require an integrated approach that could minimise potential conflicts among the SDGs and reap the benefits of potential synergies. While corporations drive the engine of economic growth, their activities also generate negative impacts which must be considered for a realistic and balanced view of their contributions. So instead of ‘cherry picking’ goals and targets that suit them best, corporations must help achieve all SDGs linked to their activities through their operations and their business model – not just finance it with philanthropy.

Finally, transformative, multi-stakeholder partnerships are a pre-requisite for creating lasting impact on the ground. Walking the talk requires real collaboration which is difficult to achieve unless we make a sincere effort to work together.

In this decade of action, corporations must play a role in co-creating a shared-future for all humanity and for that it is imperative that they reflect on their purpose and strive to become agents of social good. u

The 2018 Annual Status of Education Report (ASER ) survey indicates that the average fifth grade student in India is at least two years behind in grade appropriate learning