Financial education: Consider it for school curriculum

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Though poets and philosophers have praised the virtues of idleness as a creative pursuit, one that helps attain inner quiet and the quest for creative pursuits, in our day-to-day competitive lives, idleness is a ‘crime’. Significantly, it is applicable as much to individuals as to money. The pandemic has underscored the pressing need for financial security.

Financial security can be encouraged and enhanced through financial education. And the best time to impart it is in school. Our policymakers can seriously consider including the basics of financial education to students of the final years in school. While those who opt to study commerce have a fair idea of the subject, but it needs to be far more broad-based than that handful of students.

As the pandemic has taught us, financial education might just be as important – or, in fact, more important than some other lessons we learn in school. All other factors remaining constant, a community that knows how to invest wisely, would be in less trouble than one which is poor in the skill. Someone who knows how to invest wisely would be more likely to spend prudently too.

Students who are in their final year in school can be taught the significance of budgeting, saving, investing, and even saving for retirement. Very basic arithmetic is needed for the purpose and most students know it by the time they reach the final year in school.

Since children decide a lot of things in the family these days, it can also lead to the knowledge being passed on to the parents by the students. This can be a significant rub off. A financially responsible student can be an asset to every family and over time can lead to a happier society.

Like it or hate it, money skills are becoming life skills.