Senate bill seeks to improve financial literacy in all grade levels

Senator Win Gatchalian filed Senate Bill 1192 or the "Economics and Financial Literacy Curriculum Act of 2019" which aimed to include economics and personal finance (EPF) courses as pre-requisites for graduation in public and private schools, according to a Saturday press release.

Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts, and Culture, believed that the proposed EPF courses would help students develop good money management habits, and in turn, they would become financially responsible adults.

In his proposed bill, some lessons that would be taught to elementary school students were: making spending decisions, budget preparation, and savings management.

For secondary, tertiary and technical-vocational education levels, more complex EFP topics would be discussed, such as credit, investments, mortgages, and retirement planning.

“Halos 18 taon o higit pa ang ginugugol ng mga bata para sa pag-aaral, ngunit nagtatapos silang kapos ang kaalaman sa tamang paggamit ng salapi. Pag nagtatrabaho na sila, ginagawa nilang biruan ang petsa de peligro, pero hindi biro ang kakulangan nila ng kaalaman pagdating sa paghahanda sa kanilang kinabukasan,” said Gatchalian.

The bill also proposed to offer a professional development course for EPF teachers, with the help of the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) Center for Learning and Inclusion Advocacy.

Moreover, the bill suggested that government and private sector employees must undergo a professional development course in financial literacy.

Recent statistics from the Global Financial Literacy survey of financial services company Standard & Poor's found that only 25 percent of Filipino adults were financially literate.

According to Gatchalian, if his proposed bill was enacted into law, this would benefit students in becoming financially responsible.

Even though the BSP, the Department of Finance (DOF), and the DepEd were offering financial literacy programs, Gatchalian believed that these would not be sustainable unless they were institutionalized.

On Friday, the BSP and DepEd formalized a partnership to embed financial education in the country's educational system.

"Magandang meron na tayong mga programa tungkol sa tamang paggamit ng salapi pero sa ating panukalang batas, palalakasin natin ang mga programang ito para maturuan nang husto ang mga kabataan,” Gatchalian said. — Angelica Y. Yang/DVM, GMA News