This paper intends to explore, focusing on the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), quality education for all, and will extend and connect to Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5), gender equality. The discussion will deepen into the effects of lost ground due to the pandemic and if there are any mechanisms to put in place to ensure the ground is not lost again if another pandemic, natural disaster, or unnatural disaster occurs. The United Nations (UN) Member States adopted the Sustainable Development Agenda in 2015, setting 2030 as a deadline for achieving gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls, extending to providing equitable education opportunities for all. This Agenda ensures that all girls and boys complete accessible, equitable, and quality primary and secondary education that can lead to relevant learning outcomes for societal benefits (UN Women, 2022). Gender equity entails fairness and justice in the distribution of resources, benefits, and responsibilities among all genders, which is critical because societies worldwide have deemed females, transgender people, and nonbinary people as weaker than males. Government must meet each community wherever it is and allocate resources and opportunities as needed to create equal outcomes for all community members (Martinez, 2022). Nowadays, gender equity has helped shape the roles and expectations of men, women, and all genders at work, at home, and society. The world will be a better and more comfortable place to live when all people are accepted for their talents, skills, and abilities, regardless of gender or level of education.

The coronavirus has significantly impacted almost all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Goals 4 and 5, leaving no country unaffected (Martín-Blanco et Al., 2022). Due to school closures, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had substantive negative impacts on local and global education. These negative impacts are extended to international travel, where restrictions are implemented as social measures to contain the virus, significantly negatively impacting the economy and employment. The disruption of the education system causes poorer families to shoulder higher burdens due to a lower capacity for online learning. The effect has caused dropout rates to increase and school completion rates to decrease, leading to low learning outcomes. Besides learning, one of the central focuses of this discussion, the pandemic has had broader social and emotional impacts on students worldwide—with increased teenage pregnancy, economic loss, and rising absenteeism and dropouts.

Read the full article about achieving SDGs 4 and 5 by S Pee Vululleh at Global Washington.