Investment in education necessary to attain SDGs – VC

The Vice-Chancellor of Trinity University, Lagos, Prof. Clement Kolawole, has emphasised that achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals  is unrealistic without significant investment in human capital development and leveraging education as a transformative tool.

Kolawole made this assertion during the ITF/TU Conference/Workshop 2024, with the theme “Exploring the Prospects of Attaining the SDGs in Africa: Imperatives for Human Capital Development.”

The event was held at Drapers Hall, Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Oyo State on Tuesday.

In his keynote address, Kolawole stressed that education was central to human capacity development, a fact recognised globally by UNESCO.

“Human beings need to acquire knowledge, skills, competencies, values, and attitudes that drive sustainable development through the instrumentality of education,” he said. “Without these attributes being imbibed through a well-structured educational framework, the global aspiration to achieve the 17 SDGs will remain a mirage.”

He further highlighted that many African countries fell short of meeting the SDGs in 2015 due to their failure to deploy education as a critical driver of development.

This realisation, he noted, spurred the evolution of the Education for Sustainable Development framework, designed to bridge gaps identified in 2015 and position the world for the successful attainment of the goals by 2030.

“The inability of most African countries to achieve the SDGs in 2015 was largely due to the non-deployment of education as a driving force,” Kolawole remarked. “This conference seeks to galvanise stakeholders to address critical factors required to prepare human capital for the challenges of promoting sustainable development.”

The conference also featured insightful contributions from other distinguished speakers, including the Director-General of the Industrial Training Fund, Afiz Ogun; Prof. Saka Jimoh of the Centre for Sustainable Development, University of Ibadan; the Vice-Chancellor of Dominion University, Prof. Abel Olorunnisola; the Vice-Chancellor of Crescent University, Prof. Oyedunni Arulogun; and the Registrar of Trinity University, David Oyejide.