“Lifelong learning opportunities for all”: Who pays for it?

In 2015 the UN declared “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” as one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030. Lifelong learning has been regarded as the global goal of education; however, it is not clear what lifelong learning, as policy idea, means to different countries. This paper problematizes this policy idea by drawing a contrast between two key terms lifelong learning and lifelong education and argues that there has been an increasing emphasis on the former. The policy implication of the emphasis on lifelong learning over lifelong education is that learning opportunities are increasingly provided by private institutions and individuals are expected to manage time and resources for their learning. Because of socioeconomic inequalities all adults are not equally able to afford learning opportunities. The paper concludes that the SDGs may not be achieved by economically poor countries unless national governments take responsibility for ensuring lifelong learning opportunities for all