Financial education in schools needs to be practical, say experts
March 13, 2008 by admin
Filed under News, News-Credit-Cards
A “purely theoretical financial education” in schools is not enough to assist students as they need practical experience of making decisions about their money, one financial expert has claimed. 
Educational charity pfeg said that students at university need to be trained in balancing a budget in class so they can work out how to balance their finances.
Alastair Mathews, director of policy for pfeg, said: “Some students have already learned something about personal finance in their business and economics work – and yet they still don’t have a clue how to manage their credit card.”
The firm added that a theoretical financial education on its own “is not a lot of help” but any subject in the curriculum could be adapted and used to teach children how to use their money.
In the Future Leaders Survey 07-08, conducted by environmental charity Forum for the Future, universities association Ucas and insurers Friends Provident, 81 per cent of respondents (taken this year’s prospective university students) claimed to be ‘very’ or ‘quite’ good an managing money.
