Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and Lifelong Learning is one of the United Nations Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals 4 (SDG 4). However, in higher education, a lack of equity in resource allocation and distribution restrains the achievement of this goal. There is a viable solution in open access (OA) that increases access, fairness, and innovation, and hence plays a pivotal role in the achievement of SDG 4. This chapter explores the contribution of OA to the democratization of knowledge and consequently narrows down the education gap. OA, which gives the public access to research articles and other materials for free, particularly those that are not behind paywalls, benefits higher learning institutions by filling gaps between institutions and regions. It facilitates the distribution of books such as text and research papers, as well as Open Educational Resources (OER), especially intended for low-income and under-resourced communities. Through implementing equity and inclusion, OA helps minorities and brings quality education all around the world. OA also enables cooperation in research as it enables scholars to provide results and methods as approaches to international issues such as environmental change and health. Also, opponents argue that OA helps people learn throughout their lives, and provides materials for gaining skills and becoming better, and this is especially important now as the world changes every day. However, since the inception of OA, some factors have hindered it, including funding sustainability, quality, and technology. These problems can only be solved by investing in infrastructural changes, new business models, and promoting a new culture of open scientific practices. Therefore, it is to emphasize that OA has the potential to support SDG 4 and contribute to the changes in higher education concerning its accessibility, innovation, and unbiased reputation. Implementing and coming up with solutions to the challenges faced by OA can greatly enhance the quality of education and lead to a more sustainable and inclusive world.

Keywords

open access · OA · equitable education · sustainable development goal 4 · SDG 4 · knowledge democratization · higher education equity