Joint program aims to boost young people’s financial awareness

The month-long finance classes will be taught throughout the country in November of the upcoming academic year.

By LIDAR GRAVÉ-LAZI
Shekel money bills (photo credit: REUTERS)
Shekel money bills
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Education Ministry and the banks supervisor at the Bank of Israel are teaming up to teach financial awareness to ninth-grade high-school students.
The month-long finance classes will be taught throughout the country in November of the upcoming academic year.
“A graduate of the education system must recognize basic financial concepts, and this program, together with other systemic programs, will provide students with these basic essential concepts,” Shmuel Abuav, director-general of the Education Ministry, said on Sunday.
“The education system is deepening various fields of knowledge, broadening general education and enriching students with knowledge, understanding, thinking and social involvement, as well as providing them with useful tools in preparation for adult life,” he said.
The first-of-its-kind national level program aims to teach financial awareness and promote financial independence, providing the practical tools to allow students to manage their money at an age when they are allowed to open a bank account for the first time.
The initiative was also launched in cooperation with the Association of Banks, various Israeli banks, the Parents’ Forum and the National Council of Student and Youth.
Dr. Hedva Bar, supervisor of banks, said the banks see the importance of providing financial understanding – a basic life skill – to youth.
Among the most important issues and skills the program will teach youth, according to Bar, are: controlling expenses; budget management; savings; understanding various means of payments; wise financial consumption; and understanding costs.
The classes will be taught by representatives of the banking system under the guidance of the supervisor of the banks and the ministry. In some schools, the activity will be taught by teachers who will receive special training and by employees of the Bank of Israel.
Bar said she was “pleased to have the opportunity to instill in youth practical foundations and tools to promote financial independence.”


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