In today’s world, the need for financial literacy has never been so pressing. For decades, India's education system has not been able to equip its fellow citizens with even the basic financial skills and knowledge required to navigate through this increasingly challenging financial world. Owing to the magnitude of changes in the financial landscape over the past few years, it’s imperative that we imbibe financial literacy as part of early high school curriculum and provide the youngsters with knowledge to take charge of their finances. In that vein, like all learning, instilling financial literacy should ideally begin at an early age and continue ultimately to financial planning, in order to reap rewards.

Here are a few reasons why we at Aviva believe that it is paramount that our educational system starts to integrate financial knowledge into existing curriculum and to make learning relevant to the needs of today’s students:

• It is the generation of being aware:

Currently, owing to a lack of financial literacy, the general public is caught unaware about money matters even as basic as income, saving, and spending concepts.Introducing financial education at an early age and continuing it throughout the course of their education helps in creating an opportunity to shape our country’s future citizens into a financial-savvy population which, in turn, will empower them to make rational financial decisions.

• Starting Early, Making a Difference:

Introducing the implementation of financial literacy in high school can be effective in more ways than one. For starters, a child’s brain is like a sponge – therein he/she has the capacity to soak in information owing to the brain developing at a fast pace during that stage. This gives him/her the ability, along with the impetus, to learn nearly anything and everything thrown in their direction. Thus, by equipping them with the right skills, children will be far more capable of making critical financial decisions while also knowing how money works for the duration of their adult lives.

• Familiar grounds are easier to walk on:

We are living in an age where millions of people find themselves in crippling debt as they are unaware of how to manage their money effectively. Truth be told, unless students are given the right opportunity right from high school, they too are destined to face challenging times financially. Then there's also the small matter of the array of financial products an individual has to familiarize himself within this day and age – ranging from mortgages, loans, investment options such as mutual funds, futures, etc. and even credit cards. A financial planning class as part of their curriculum early on could drastically improve their knowledge about at least some if not all of these financial products while also ensuring that when these kids turn into adults, they have an increased familiarity with matters of financial importance.

• Replace monotony with practicality:

Besides written curriculum, there's also an inherent need to introduce practical involvement. For instance, by teaching kids how to open and operate a bank account in a simulated environment rather than lectures, kids will in a better position to understand real-world concepts. Children also need to be taught how to manage their own investment portfolios so that they don't feel lost when the time comes to make real-world financial decisions. Only through the development of these abilities, will children become responsible citizens, which, in turn, will contribute towards improving the quality of their lives and to a better functioning of the Indian society on the whole. Importantly, getting a first-hand look in on the various financial concepts whilst in high school can enable children to relate better with these lessons not only with each other but also with other adult individuals’ such as teachers and parents

Our Final Thoughts

To navigate through today’s tough financial landscape, it’s crucial that financial education is introduced right from the grassroots level as it’s undoubtedly an essential life skill. In that regard, Aviva has made it its mission to educate its customers and the public about the importance of financial literacy by way of several informational blogs and articles on financial issues and trends in a manner that people can relate to. That being said, do take some time and go through Aviva's website if you're looking to boost your financial literacy quotient. 

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