Business News of Wednesday, 21 March 2012

Source: GNA

Advocacy group calls for financial literacy among pupils

This year’s International Child and Youth Finance Week, has been marked in Kumasi with an appeal to the Ghana Education Service (GES) to help promote financial literacy among pupils.

Ms Bernice Dapaah, Executive Director of Bright Generation Community Foundation, a youth advocacy group, said the GES should provide space in the basic schools’ curriculum for financial literacy.

She said it was important to help children to imbibe savings and investment culture.

Instilling the habit of savings in them right from the basic level of education would in the long-term, result in wealth creation, poverty reduction and capital formation to improve the economy, Ms Dapaah added.

The celebration brought together students from across the metropolis and was held under the auspices of the Foundation with support from UniBank.

The week, an annual ritual observed worldwide, is meant to help educate the young people on financial issues for economic development.

Ms Dapaah said her organisation has commenced the formation of “Child and Youth Finance Clubs” in some basic schools in the metropolis who are being given insight into the operations of the banking system and being encouraged to save with the banks.

She said this was done in partnership with some financial institutions.

Ms Dapaah said the youth as the backbone of the nation’s economy needs to be assisted with the right financial information and knowledge.**