SDGs: Students positive about HE, doubt poverty will be erased

University students in Ghana are optimistic that the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on quality education, gender equality, and clean water will be achieved by 2030, but are sceptical of the goals aimed at eradicating poverty and achieving zero hunger.

In a study published on 30 July 2024 in the journal Higher Education, researchers from Ghana, Canada and the United Kingdom engaged 400 students to assess their perceptions on the attainability of the 17 SDGs and identifies the enablers.

The 400 students from the University of Ghana (UG), the University for Development Studies (UDS), both public institutions, and one private institution, Central University (CU), who participated in the study believe the SDG target to reduce poverty and eradicate hunger by 2030 is overambitious and will not be attained in Africa.

More than half of the participants (55%) had never heard about the SDGs. Students at UDS are more informed than their peers at UG and the CU.

Students also feel the goals related to decent work and economic growth, reduced inequalities, and climate action are less likely to be reached.

Whereas, most students acknowledge the critical role of addressing climate change when considering environmental sustainability as an enabler for SDGs, only 22% see it as “extremely important”. In contrast, nearly half of the students consider “halting biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation” as “extremely important”. Most students consider minimising corruption as important in governance.

Education should be prioritised

“The pronounced belief in the attainability of SDG 4, quality education, among students indicates a clear mandate for prioritising education for sustainable development initiatives. The prevalent scepticism toward achieving SDGs related to poverty, hunger, and health necessitates a focused and strategic approach in these domains that may well extend beyond what these universities can do,” the researchers say.

The disparities in perceptions across the universities call for inter-institutional partnerships that enhance resource sharing and uniform advocacy for SDG-oriented education to be cultivated, according to the article.

The researchers also call for the enhancement of educational strategies and inter-institutional collaborations to prepare students effectively for their roles in global sustainability efforts. “It is vital for higher education institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa, where sustainability challenges are significant and innovative solutions are often lacking, to embed SDG-focused studies into their curricula and promote student engagement in SDG initiatives.”

SDG initiatives essential in higher education

Dr Yaw Agyeman Boafo, the study’s lead author and a senior research fellow from the University of Ghana’s College of Basic and Applied Sciences, affirmed that the study is a call for the formulation and development of policies and educational initiatives that are geared towards sustainable development.

“We need to ensure that we’re effectively preparing future generations to tackle the complex challenges of sustainability,” Boafo told University World News.

The study calls for “inclusive and integrative curricular designs that embed SDG knowledge and principles across all disciplines”. The researchers say that adding SDG topics to existing curricula is not good enough.

“What is needed is a pedagogical transformation that fosters an active, critical engagement with sustainability challenges. This involves adopting interdisciplinary approaches and experiential learning opportunities that connect theoretical knowledge with real-world applications, thereby enhancing students’ capacities to contribute to sustainable solutions,” the article reads.

The researchers believe that this broadens students’ understanding of sustainability while equipping them with the skills and mindsets necessary to navigate and address complex global challenges.

Universities face numerous challenges

Dr Mourine Achieng, researcher at the University of South Africa’s Graduate School of Business Leadership, said that Sub-Saharan Africa is facing numerous developmental challenges, and education – especially at universities – is critical to a thriving society and economy, putting them in a pole position to find solutions to address the challenges facing the societies they serve.

“It is critical that universities and other higher education institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa integrate SDG principles into their curricula. In some cases, it is necessary to design new courses to address the SDGs,” Achieng said.

Universities are the primary source of knowledge and research relevant to the needs of the societies they serve. This knowledge and research can help policymakers make evidence-based decisions about entrepreneurship, health, environmental management, and societal inequality, she said.

But universities in Sub-Saharan Africa, as enablers of SDGs, are faced with a myriad of challenges. Boafo and colleagues define universities in Africa’s role and commitment to localise and lead research on the SDGs as “less than impressive”. In the past six years, the Times Higher Education ranking on how universities contribute to the SDGs through the Impact Ranking report had no university in Sub-Saharan Africa appearing in the top 20 universities from 2019-23.

Little effort to develop research training

This, they argue, is a revelation of the “broader and systemic inequities in global knowledge production” that includes geographical bias in research funding, authorships and study locations on the evolution of sustainability science, with the bias most pronounced in South America and Africa. “While some efforts are being made to include African voices in sustainability science research – through academic conferences and special journal issues, most African institutions of higher learning have been slow to develop training in sustainability science research,” they say in the article.

“The misalignment of curricula with the skills and knowledge required to address the SDGs may make graduates lack the competencies needed to tackle SDG-related challenges, reducing the overall impact of universities in driving sustainable development in Africa,” Achieng said.

“Successful integration of SDG principles into the curriculum can help produce graduates with relevant knowledge and skills to address the development challenges that most Sub-Saharan African countries face.”

Existing policies often ineffective

The absence, or inadequacy of policies, strategies or regulatory frameworks guiding universities and other institutions of higher education on incorporating SDG principles into their curricula is a significant issue, she said.

“Even when policies or frameworks exist, their implementation across universities and other higher education institutions are often ineffective. The solutions for this could be to, first, formulate comprehensive policies developed in consultation with all relevant stakeholders, and long-term strategic plans for their effective implementation across universities.”

Achieng said the suboptimal linkages between industry and academia are another hindrance as they reduce the practical application of research findings and the development of innovations and practices that can support the SDGs needs of the societies they serve. She called for the strengthening of industry-academia ties to enhance the role of universities and other higher education institutions as enablers of attaining the targets of SDG principles in Africa.