Reimagining Higher Education for Sustainable Development in India

Agenda 2030 is the international blueprint for sustainable development, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015.

- DR. DEBAJIT PALIT, DR. ANANDAJIT GOSWAMI

INTRODUCTION Higher education institutions (HEIs) have a significant role to play in shaping the future of nations, and their potential to drive the Agenda 2030 cannot be overstated. Agenda 2030 comprises 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets. The SDGs that aim "to secure a sustainable, peaceful, prosperous and equitable life on earth for everyone now and in the future" have gained significant attention worldwide as a comprehensive framework for addressing global challenges and promoting sustainable development. While all SDGs are important and have their own significance, two crucial goals, SDG4 (Quality Education) and SDG7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), are interconnected and play a vital role in achieving a sustainable future for India.

The Incheon Declaration constitutes the commitment to Education 2030 and SDG4 focusing on quality education for all with the central tenet being human right achievement. Education, from primary school to tertiary education and lifelong learning, is a prerequisite of any developmental process and is considered the golden thread that runs through all 17 SDGs.

Literature on learning indicates that learning can be bracketed into the paradigms of 3-5, 5-8, 8-11 in terms of the age group and 80% of the learning adaptability is shaped up by the age of 14. Cognitive studies on the psychology of learning mention that real learning application can also start to happen post age 14. In many human beings, application of idea shaping of childhood imagination, memories can foster and take a tangible shape even beyond 20 and further needs to be sustained through higher education.