A report titled ‘A Recapitalised Banking Sector a New Breeze for Value Creation’ has proposed that financial education should be added to the curriculum at the pre-tertiary level.
The report was put together by the Unit for Financial Studies of the Central University.
The 2019 banking sector league report also chronicled a multiplicity of thematic areas in the banking space ranging from the efficiency of banks, financial sector development and impact of corporate governance on the profitability of banks.
On the issue of financial literacy, the report stated that “the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service, and in particular the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment should consider making financial education part of academic curriculum at the pre-tertiary educational level, this will equip students with basic financial literacy concepts and hopefully develop their financial literacy skills as they manage their personal finances throughout their life. An integrated curriculum is preferred so students are not exposed to making money without developing their full potential.”
At the tertiary level also, the authors of the report believe that financial literacy courses should be part of the curriculum and should be made compulsory courses. This, the report argues, will equip students with the necessary tools they need for effective financial literacy.
Apart from the educational system, the report also advocates a building of financial literacy through the use of NGOs and informal education platforms through development programs such as microfinance, microcredit, vocational education.
On the national front, the report also pushes for a national campaign: “The financial literacy campaign week initiative in Ghana by the Ministry of Finance which started in 2008 should be revived. The campaign should not only be in Accra but in other cities across the country. Communication media such as Radio and TV can be utilized to run media campaigns on financial literacy. Also, the campaign should be organized in all senior high schools across the country. Publications in diverse forms, including books, brochures, magazines, booklets, pamphlets can be used. This will boost the impact that the campaign will have in the years to come.”
The report underscores money as the denominator of all economic activities and as such a decent level of literacy will only go to aid individuals in understanding how to use and manage their resources efficiently.
The recent challenges and reforms in the financial sector has exposed a great weakness, a dearth of financial literates.
The importance of financial literacy cannot be understated as it will help reduce the incidence and gravity of malfeasance (fraudulent schemes etc) in the sector.
