QU professors emphasise importance of education and its role in achieving SDGs

The International Day of Education is being held Tuesday to celebrate and emphasise the role of education in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).To mark this occasion, a number of professors from Qatar University’s (QU) College of Education speak about the importance of prioritising education and the role of the educated individual in building a strong and sustainable society.Dr Mayamin Altae, professor of Educational Sciences, said: "The fourth goal of the SDGs focuses on ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all, which essentially means education is the backbone for achieving the SDGs and ensuring a secure future for generations to come. The power of education is demonstrated through preparing students to be broadminded citizens, empathetic to their peers and across borders, capable of renouncing violence and taking effective action to promote world peace. Quality education equips people with knowledge, skills and values that enable them to live with dignity and contributes to making societies safer and stronger.”Dr Ayad Taama, professor of Art Education, said: "The strongest characteristic of education is its ability to build a promising generation that contributes to building the state. This is not exclusively the role of the state, but also starts from the home and family and the extent to which these participants interact to achieve scientific, educational and ethical goals, which is based on the sense of responsibility and benefiting from development plans of other societies in developed countries.”He added, "The importance of education in shaping society starts here, relying on the development of educational curricula and paying attention to modern studies and research and how to apply them.” Dr Nasser al-Rawahi, professor of Physical Education, noted: "In light of technological developments and the explosion of knowledge and information that the world is witnessing in all fields of life, the process of developing and improving educational programmes has become a societal requirement imposed by the reality of the tremendous scientific development.”