Prof. Dr. Arief Rachman, M.Pd. clarified that the meeting aimed to share information on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the SDG Secretariat’s progress in adapting the SDG 4 Quality Education Targets to the Indonesian context, and the programmes of the Ministry of Education and Culture.  

Ir. Suharti, M.A., PhD highlighted that Indonesia has committed to implement the SDGs and achieve the targets. Since 2014 Indonesia (specifically the Ministry for National Development Planning) has closely followed discussions on the SDGs and Targets. Each country has a right to select its prioritized Goals and Targets based on the situation of the country. Elaborate explanations were given on the operational definition and indicators for SDG 4. The Central Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry for National Development Planning determine the indicators that would be used to measure achievement of the targets, and the surveys that would be used to acquire the data in the country. Achievement of SDG 4 would affect achievement of the other SDGs. In order to be able to achieve the national targets, commitment at the local level is very important. The data synchronization and harmonization amongst the Ministries has become another challenge that needs to be solved, so that the national indicators for SDG 4 can be achieved accordingly. A reminder was given emphasizing that the demographic bonus can only really become a bonus if the population is productive. For example, many educated women cannot work and thus cannot contribute to the economy because they do not have someone who could take care of their children. Thus specific employment conditions need to be provided for these women in order for them to be able to work.

Prof. Shahbaz Khan extended his appreciation to the Indonesian National Commission for UNESCO and to the Ministry of Education and Culture for organizing this meeting. He also praised the Government of Indonesia for its strong commitment in the implementation of SDG 4-Education 2030. This has been shown by the active participation from the Government in discussing the strategies and approaches to achieve SDG 4. The tasks before us in adapting the SDGs Targets to the local context, and in achieving the SDGs are not easy. Links with the different Ministries whose roles are related to SDG 4 also need to be made by the Indonesian National Commission for UNESCO. The SDGs need to be interpreted and adapted to the national definitions and systems.

The meeting was closed by Prof. Dr. Arief Rachman, M.Pd. by stressing that to achieve SDG 4-Education, we can utilize our culture and local wisdom so that implementation of SDG 4-Education will be fully participated or owned by each element of the community.