Fincial Education to form part of Meghalaya school curriculum
From Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 26: The Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBOSE) has chalked out plans to include Fincial Education as part of the school curriculum to help bring about improving the saving and investment culture in the state and create ‘A Fincially Aware and Empowered India’. Meghalaya with the inclusion of Fincial Education will be part of the six states out of 29 states in India which have included this curriculum. Speaking at a sensitization programme on ‘Fincial Education’, E.P. Kharbhih, Commissioner and Secretary, Education Department, informed that school teachers will be trained and certified as “Money Smart Teachers” and these certified teachers will further impart Fincial Education to their respective school students. The programme was organized by tiol Council for Fincial Education (NCFE) which was attended by around 250 teachers of various schools from both Khasi and Jaintia Hills.
Kharbhih said the state government will direct MBOSE to implement it and the ‘Workbook’ is prepared by the Central Board of School Education (CBSE) and Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), New Delhi.
Informing that the inclusion of Fincial Education will not be a burden to students, he said, “Students will not be tested in these workbooks on Fincial Education. So it will not be an additiol burden but just an awareness for teachers and students.”
The state government has also directed the Executive Chairman of MBOSE on 25 February 2016, to work out the details for inclusion of Fincial Education topics in school curriculum for classes VI to X and the same will be introduced by this academic session. He further informed that Fincial Education would be introduced this year itself in 100 schools, 60 in Khasi and Jaintia Hills and 40 in Garo Hills.
“Out of these 100 schools, lead schools will be identified which in turn will take full responsibility to help to supervise, monitor and assist other schools which would be participating in this wonderful vision,” he said.
He revealed that in East Khasi Hills there are 28 schools where ten principals have been selected, in West Khasi Hills there are seven schools of which only two principals have been selected, in South West Khasi Hills there are three schools of which one principal has been selected, in Ri-Bhoi there are seven schools of which four have been selected, in West Jaintia Hills there are12 schools of which four have been selected, while in East Jaintia Hills there are four schools of which two principals have been selected.
According to Fincial Literacy & Inclusion Survey, conducted by tiol Centre for Fincial Education (NCFE) in 2014, only 20 % Indians are Fincially Literate. NCFE, a joint initiative of fincial sector regulators i.e. Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), currently housed at tiol Institute of Securities Markets (NISM), Mumbai has taken the responsibility of spreading fincial education across all section of society with a Vision of creating “A Fincially Aware and Empowered India”.
