Page 68 - EW August 2025

Teacher-2-Teacher

Schools need to introduce

compulsory financial literacy

ARYAN PURI

NDIA’S EDUCATION SYSTEM POSES A significant Delaying financial education until
danger to young people — especially millennials and
Gen Z. Currently this digitally savvy generation, which late adolescence, and restricting it to
Iconstitutes more than half the national population is commerce stream students exhibits
confronted with complex financial products and services
such as UPI, cryptocurrency, EMI schemes, and gig work deep myopia about real-world
from early age. However, their formal classroom experience consequences for the majority of
falls woefully short in preparing them to manage latter-day
financial instruments. Most students are not schooled in adolescents and youth
foundational financial literacy until classes XI-XII, and
even then only those who opt for the commerce stream. For school managements and faculty the best way to
High school students in science, arts and humanities are introduce financial concepts from senior school onwards
left to their own devices. is by:
In a financial environment replete with digital payments, Focusing on psychology & behaviour. School curricu-
rewards, and enticing options, over 30 percent of young lums need to teach teens to differentiate between needs and
people despite their tendency to begin saving and investing wants; manage emotional spending impulses; recognise
early — according to a Boston Consulting Group report over cognitive biases such as confirmation bias and loss aver-
60 percent of youth start saving and investing before age sion; withstand peer pressure and appreciate the value of
25 — depend on unreliable social media advice. delayed gratification to practice the savings habit from their
Delaying financial education until late adolescence and teenage years.
restricting it to the minority of students reading commerce Practice of relatable simulations. Teachers need to
exhibits deep myopia about real-world consequences for introduce students to monthly budgeting involving income
the majority of youth. Among the consequences: and expenditure, practice emergencies management, evalu-
Ignorance of delayed gratification. In the new digi- ate differing loan alternatives, and encourage them to man-
tal world which encourages impulse purchase behaviour, age simulated investment portfolios.
learning about long-term security over short-term wants, Introducing digital & modern tools. Schools need to
is neither taught nor learned by non-commerce students, teach students safe and effective use of UPI, digital wallets,
and only tangentially addressed in higher secondary com- online banking, and the basics of recognised investment
merce programs. options (mutual funds, stocks) as also digital security safe-
Vulnerability to exploitation. Unschooled in basic con- guards and protection against cyber fraud.
cepts such as risk, return, marketing psychology, young citi- Introduction to core protections. Educators should
zens become vulnerable to predatory lending practices, get- demystify basic insurance (health, term life) and explain
rich-quick schemes, impulsive spending driven by FOMO, why risk coverage is important for financial security. Cur-
and expensive credit dependency. riculums should also teach fundamental tax concepts rel-
Mental health burdens. Financial illiteracy generates evant to young earners — income slabs, TDS deductions,
anxiety over debt, stress from unmanageable side busi- GST etc.
nesses and sentiments of shame associated with inadequate Empowering educators. Institutional managements
money management — all of which affect overall well-being. must invest in teacher training focused on contemporary
Investment paralysis and/or recklessness. Igno- financial literacy, behavioural norms, and practical appli-
rance can result in either total inaction (thereby foregoing cations to bridge the gap between textbook knowledge and
the benefits of savings and compounded growth) or reckless real-world financial realities.
speculation fueled by herd instinct rather than fundamental The current system of teaching financial literacy is not
money management principles. only deficient but also inherently exclusionary. It is re-
Life skills deficiency. Adult responsibilities — under- stricted to commerce students in higher secondary classes,
standing health and life insurance, navigating UPI apps se- with the result that a large number of Generation Z chil-
curely, grasping fundamental tax principles, or drawing up dren are left struggling within a complex financial land-
simple budgets are alien concepts for most school-leavers. scape. Finance should not be an optional subject reserved
To address widespread youth financial illiteracy, a sharp for aspiring accountants; it is a crucial life skill necessary for
upgrade in senior school curriculums (classes IX-XII) is survival, well-being, and empowerment of all young people
overdue. Financial literacy should no longer be an optional in the era of the internet and digital transactions. This void
subject restricted to commerce students in their late teen- in school curriculums needs to be addressed urgently.
age years. It needs to be introduced as an essential life skill
for all students class IX upwards. (Aryan Puri is the Delhi-based Founder of Plutus — The Finance Club)

68 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2025