CBN, NERDC introduce financial literacy to secondary schools

The Central Bank of Nigeria, in partnership with the Nigeria
Education Research Development Council, has announced the
introduction of a financial literacy programme into the curriculum
of secondary schools in the country.

Speaking during a school mentoring programme held at the Victory
College, Ikare-Akoko, Ondo State, the CBN Director, Consumer
Protection Department, Mr. Kofo Abdulsalam-Alada, said the
programme was designed to educate pupils on the importance of
savings and investment.

Abdulsalam-Alada also noted that the programme was organised by
the CBN for secondary school pupils in commemoration of the World
Savings Day.

He said, “We are collaborating with the Nigeria Education
Research Development Council to design a curriculum that will
ensure that financial literacy is actually infused into subjects
taught in secondary schools in Nigeria.

“A series of workshops and pilot testing of some of the designed
programmes have been carried out in Lagos. Within the current
school calendar year, infusion into the system should commence in
subjects like accounting, economics and commerce in order to give
the children knowledge about savings and other forms of investment.
It is not when they get to the university that they should start
learning about financial literacy.

“We have some graduates out there who are not financially
literate. If you have a lot of money and you don’t how to manage
it, you may experience a problem with spending. That is why the CBN
decided to introduce this programme so as to catch these children
young.”

The CBN boss urged the pupils to imbibe the habit of saving
money in order to meet their future and emergency needs.