A youth-focused financial literacy is achievable if it can be incorporated in the upper primary and secondary school curriculum, an alternative strategy that will target the youth age group, a cadet researcher at the country’s think-tank National Research Institute (NRI) has said. Cadet researcher Maholopa Laveil said that the Government’s Tuition Fee Free (TFF) policy will only mean that there are more children in schools without supporting them. She said the current curriculum at the high school level contained a personal development or commonly called the guidance subject which provided the avenue for financial education to be included in the syllabus. “Through a four year course of study, (grades nine to twelve) students will have the opportunity to become financially literate, equipped with basic financial skills when they leave formal education. “It is estimated that 83 per cent of Grade 12 students annually do not proceed to university mainly because of shortage of spaces. “The Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) initiative has been promoted primarily to offer the high number of high school leavers that have missed out on tertiary education an opportunity to engage in business activities for income creation and employment generation,” Ms Laveil said. She said financial knowledge at that level would prove an invaluable tool, with the youth knowing the importance of saving and how to access loans. “It should, in the long term, contribute to the success of the SME initiative. There are at present, other non-governmental agencies and institutions that are training people interested in starting businesses, the required financial skills. “Also the annual financial inclusion exposition that is held annually has promoted awareness of financial products in the main metropolises.” She said other training avenues and schemes needed to be established to reach young people, especially in rural areas. - See more at: pngloop/2015/01/08/financial-literacy-young-needed-school/#sthash.xcmrS10A.dpuf
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 05:55:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015