Israel Putting Bankers in Classrooms to Teach Finance and Economics
Source: Haaretz
Israeli teachers will cede their classrooms to bankers in November, under a new program aimed at giving the country’s financially illiterate teenagers a basic course in finance and economics. “Financial Education Month in the School System” seeks to introduce ninth-graders to banking, saving, investment and general economic concepts, with teachers drawn from employees in the country’s banks. The program is a partnership between the Education Ministry and the Bank of Israel.
No one disputes that when it comes to money and personal finance, Israeli adolescents are at the bottom of the class. Among students in 13 Organization for Economic Cooperation Development member states in 2014, Israelis scored 476 on an exam with a range of 200 to 800. That was 24 points less than the average for the 13 participating states.
“High-school graduates need to understand basic financial concepts. This program, along with others, will give students fundamental essential concepts,” said Education Ministry Director General Shmuel Abuhav.
The only financial education course currently offered by the Education Ministry is designed for 10th-graders and is taught at just 106 schools nationwide. But the new program will also not be compulsory and will only be taught in schools that want it, the ministry said.
Read the entire article at Haaretz.