A SOCIAL enterprise advocate is trying to drum up support to include personal finance as a school subject as a way of producing finance and entrepreneur-oriented individuals.
Such an initiative is already being tried out in a school in Cavite, said Mariel Vincent Rapisuran of the Social Enterprise Development Partnerships, Inc.
Rapisuran said the organization has developed modules on finance that are being pilot-tested among teachers in the Sisters of Mary School (Girls and Boys town) in Cavite in coordination with the Department of Education.
"The design of the curriculum has started for teachers first because a lot of teachers are not yet financially literate, so sila muna yung istrengthen natin para maituro nila sa mga students," he said.
"The curriculum is to help them understand the importance of personal finance, debt management, savings, adequate insurance coverage and after that to come up with good financial plans," he said.
The design of the curriculum for teachers was implemented last February and the curriculum for students is expected to be rolled out in July or August.
The modules and curriculum were inspired by a research conducted by SEDPI which found that there is a need to start lessons on finance in secondary education.
"Actually hindi kulang yung emphasis on finance sa curriculum natin, in fact, wala," he added, noting that only those who pursue finance or business-related courses are exposed to financial education.
The pilot testing will be evaluated after this school year. If successful, the DepEd will hopefully adopt the curriculum nationwide, Rapisuran said.
The Sisters of Mary School has 200 teachers and 12,000 high school students from Girls and Boys town.
A World Bank Global Survey on Consumer Protection and Financial Literacy in 2013 found that while the Philippine government has the responsibility to implement and oversee any aspect of financial education or literacy, the agencies in charge do not conduct surveys on financial capability/literacy and do not publish regular reports.
The survey also found that the agencies in charge do not issue guidelines to the providers of financial services or develop training materials on financial topics. Giovani Joy Fontanilla