learning opportunities for all
”.
SDG 4 is based upon the idea that lifelong learning has the potential to transform people’s
lives. Though international discourses and relevant documents have given attention to the
subject of LLL for quite some time now, the fact that the call for LLL promotion was reflected
in SDGs can be considered as a new paradigm for transformation/reorientation of national
education systems. The new development model of the 3
rd
millennium can only be created
with the help of education and enlightening.
SDG 4 presents a range of challenges to national education systems. It requires a critical
evaluation of existing education structures, and states the necessity to look for new education
models that would compensate for shortcomings and gaps. Education organisers, decision-
makers, and managers of education structures must initiate new approaches, so as not to lag
behind modern trends. They must also introduce relevant changes, which, among others,
include the following. Firstly, there should be maximum flexibility in the offered education.
Secondly, various key competences need to be developed with due regard to the educational
needs of socially disadvantaged groups. Thirdly, educational programmes need to be made
more accessible, for example by bringing educational institutions closer to the learner’s places
of residence. Finally, the necessary conditions must be created for a given population to
develop its human capital in accordance with new economic and social demands.
As a rule, lifelong learning means any purposeful learning (formal, non-formal, and informal)
undertaken regularly to improve one’s knowledge and skills, and that facilitates personal and
social development, as well as potential for employment. UNESCO defines lifelong learning as
rooted in the integration of learning and living, covering learning activities for people of all ages
(children, young people, adults and elderly, girls and boys, women and men) in all life-wide
contexts (family, school, community, workplace and so on) and through a variety of modalities
(formal, non-formal and informal) which together meet a wide range of learning needs and
demands.
Lifelong learning entails the learning undertaken both within and beyond the formal education
system in a wide variety of contexts. It means that a person’s ability to expand their knowledge
and acquire new skills is not just confined to formal education.
Some countries have already implemented the idea of lifelong learning in their national
education policies as a holistic and sector-wide approach. This approach covers all sub-
sectors and levels of education by involving everyone, regardless of their age. These countries
enjoy economic return on such investments, and ensure the development of the nation’s
human capital. Not to mention, they see great improvement in the lifelong learner’s quality of
life. Unfortunately, the majority of countries are still a way off from such a reality, while only
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