The Financial Services Practitioner Panel has "strongly" called on the Government to make financial education part of the national curriculum.
The statement was contained in the Financial Services Practitioner Panel 2006-7 Annual Report released earlier today.
The Panel stated that they "…remained uncertain that the increase in Financial Capability expenditure – whilst laudable – would have the wider overall effect that was hoped for. The Panel has always felt that the most effective way to make significant progress on financial capability would be through appropriate amendments to the National Curriculum – a point it put strongly to the Economic Secretary to the Treasury Ed Balls MP when it met with him in early 2007."
Anne Kiem, Director of External Affairs at financial education charity, the ifs School of Finance, said;
"We are naturally pleased that the Financial Services Practitioner Panel have called for financial capability to become part of the national curriculum.
The ifs School of Finance continues to press Government to acknowledge that financial education is a crucial life skill. As a first step financial capability should be promoted to having an equal footing with other subjects in the national curriculum such as Geography, Modern foreign languages and History i.e. schools should be compelled to offer their students the option to study a dedicated personal finance qualification.
Raising the status of the subject in this way would lead to a step change in the number of young people leaving school equipped to make informed financial decisions. We share the Practitioner Panel’s view that the Government’s current approach is unlikely to have the effect that is hoped for."
For further information about the Financial Services Practitioner Panel please go to: http://www.fs-pp.org.uk/index.html
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