By Maria Febriani Seran, Innovation Lead, Save the Children Indonesia
SDG leadership program is one of the main programs conducted by SDG Academy in collaboration with Tanoto Foundation, UNDP, and Bappenas to improve the capacity on SDG goals for all top leaders in their field so that they have better understanding on SDG goals and integrate them in their program goals. This SDG leadership program runs for 5 months hybridly where the participants learn from qualified mentors, trainers, and specialists about leadership and governance in SDG based on specific SDG targets.
In batch 4, among 313 applicants, I got selected with 44 other participants to participate in the program where the participants are coming from diverse fields, such as governments, NGOs, private sector, philanthropy, media, and university, which allow us to view the issue on education and poverty from different angles and perspectives.
From May to September 2023, we learned through interactive workshops, quizzes, group discussion, online learning, and a collaborative capstone project, specifically under the quality education theme. Thus, here are my key takeaways from the intensive 5-month SDG leadership program.
Issues on education in Indonesia are complex; therefore there is no one-size-fits-all approach, rather we need to identify the root cause using root cause analysis. Education issues in one area might be different from the other; therefore it is encouraged to invest more time in analyzing the root cause using quantitative and qualitative data to better understand the issue systematically. Once the root cause issue is well determined; it takes less time to ideate and test out the solution to ensure the solution truly answers the root cause.
Investing in human capital and education is worth the price. Becker (1964) in Cahuc et al (2014) stated that education is an investment, producing extra knowledge and improving productivity, which will increase future income in the future. However, Quality education is not only seen from the achievement of quantity education (how many degrees a person achieves, but also necessary to look at the quality of education. Various challenges still occur for Indonesia to fulfill target SDGs Goal number 4. This is related to the lack of quantity in school distribution between regions as well as the quality of education which is not good. The quality of this education includes quality of teaching staff, facilities educational support infrastructure, as well as the quality of graduates from various levels and types of education.
Achieving the SDG no 4 Quality Education is not merely a one man job, yet, it is a multi stakeholder responsibility and commitment using both button up to top down approach for better quality education. It starts from the government making policy, regulation, and priority programs based on targets and needs while monitoring the implementation. The private sector might also reestablish their business with a sustainable business model canvas with the consideration of all ESG (environment, social, governance) risk management. Meanwhile, NGO, academics/universities might fill the gap by providing knowledge and assessing change in practice and behavior through training, mentorship, and coaching for teachers, school principals, children, youth and all the relevant stakeholders at regional level. Whereas, the media might help to amplify the voice on a greater level so that more people are aware of the education issue and start to get into the action.
References
Hanushek, E. A., & Wößmann, L. (2007). The role of education quality for economic growth. The World Bank. Open access, dapat dilihat pada tautan: http://hanushek.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/publications/Hanushek%2BWoessmann%20 2007%20Education%20Quality%20and%20Economic%20Growth.pdf
SDG learning Management System
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