The ifs School of Finance, the only provider of GCSE, AS and A level equivalent qualifications in Personal Finance, have reacted positively to a House of Commons debate on financial education held last night.
Liberal Democrat and former Education Spokesman Phil Willis MP gave a comprehensive speech on the need to improve financial education in schools to which Jim Knight MP, the Minister of State for Schools responded.
Phil Willis said, "Today's young people face a more complex financial picture… it appears that as we have become more affluent we have abandoned… our senses when it comes to finance."
Mr. Willis argued that financial education must be recognised as a key skill that sits alongside literacy and numeracy, as an examinable and standalone part of the curriculum. He added that until Government recognises this, ""the nation will continue to see financial illiteracy as the norm in our society.
Mr. Willis also expressed his agreement with the ifs School of Finance that Government plans to incorporate Personal Finance into GCSE "functional" maths from 2010 were inadequate. He said of the proposals, "…this latest Government initiative offers another tasty soundbite but no real substance."
Phil Hall, Public Affairs Manager at the ifs School of Finance, said:
"In recent years we have moved to a position where all political parties, as well as organisations involved in this area, recognise that improving financial education is crucial if we are to tackle the lack of financial capability among young people.
However, such education must be meaningful and we think the Liberal Democrats were right to express concern with the Governments current approach of sprinkling little pieces of personal finance across the curriculum.
There is no evidence to suggest such an approach will change the financial behaviour of young people.
In contrast, there is evidence to suggest that having a standalone qualification in personal finance would change the behaviour of young people and equip them with the necessary skills to make informed financial decisions. The fact this has been acknowledged in parliament is certainly encouraging."
As a first step, the ifs School of Finance would like to see Government add Personal Finance to the core curriculum. This would give Personal Finance an equal footing with a range of other subjects such as History, Geography and Modern Foreign languages.
The ifs School of Finance believes that doing so would lead to a step change in the number of students leaving school with the necessary skills to manage their own finances.
To read the debate in full, please click here.
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