Attainability of the quest for quality sustainable development goal 4 in the context of multiple challenging conditions in higher education in Zimbabwe

The article interrogated the quest of providing quality sustainable education in Zimbabwe’s higher education, in the context of multiple challenges that beset the sector. The drive to provide quality education is embedded in the global vision for quality sustainable education spurred on by the 2030 agenda goal 4, aiming to ensure that individuals attain an education that is meaningful and prosperous. This study adopted a qualitative approach and a case study design. In-depth structured interviews were used to collect data from purposively sampled participants which was thematically analysed. Results indicated that higher education in Zimbabwe is struggling to reach for the ceiling set by the agenda 2030 goals in the current obtaining context of constrained resources in an economy that continues to be challenged, with educators who are un-motivated and scream incapacitation. The article argues that for higher education in Zimbabwe, a lot needs to be done to achieve the vision of goal 4 of the 2030 global agenda. The fact that there is a questionable sync of the elements expected in a smooth trajectory to achieving quality sustainable education because of the lack of some key resources and poor conditions of service faced by academics expected to implement ESD programmes means, the attainability of the global goals by 2030 is also questionable.