Teach financial literacy in senior high, bill proposes

Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Lordan Suan (Photo from his Facebook page)

MANILA, Philippines — Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Lordan Suan suggests adding financial literacy education, covering savings, investing, insurance, and taxes, to the senior high school curriculum for better-informed financial decisions by the youth.

Suan filed House Bill No. 9162, or the Financial Literacy Education bill, amid concerns that few Filipinos have a good grasp of financial literacy.

He said the measure recognized the need “to enhance financial literacy in the country to improve the economic well-being of every citizen and society.”

“By integrating financial literacy into the education system, the proposed measure aims to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for informed financial decision-making, managing personal finances, and contributing to the nation’s economic development,” Suan said in the bill’s explanatory note.

He added: “By teaching financial literacy in basic education, we can equip young individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the economic landscape and make informed decisions, promoting their financial well-being and contributing to a healthier economy.”

In filing the bill last September, Suan cited the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 2021 Financial Inclusion survey, which showed that many Filipinos “do not know or have less exposure to financial literacy.”

The poll showed that two percent of the respondents were able to answer all six basic financial literacy questions correctly and that 70 percent correctly answered half of the questions.

‘Worrisome’

Around 42 percent of the respondents understood the impact of inflation on their purchasing power, while 30 percent understood the concept of simple and compound interest.

Suan pointed out that only “a tiny proportion, or 7 percent, had participated in a seminar or webinar to boost financial literacy.”

He said the results were “worrisome” since few have little to no idea of computing annual interest rates, while most did not understand simple and compounding interest works on savings.

“Moreover, only half of the adults expressed interest in attending financial literacy training sessions conducted by the BSP,” Suan said.

HB 9162 proposed to include financial literacy in the senior high school curriculum so that topics like personal finance management, budgeting, saving, investing, credit and debt, insurance and taxes, etc. will be taught to students.

The Department of Education will work with the BSP and the Department of Finance to create the financial literacy curriculum and the needed teaching materials that are “age appropriate and designed to equip students with the skills and competencies to make sound financial decisions.”

The three agencies will also conduct training programs for teachers on financial literacy and collaborate with other financial institutions to develop and improve the curriculum through additional resources, training, and educational materials. INQ

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