Ministry of Energy and Business Launches National Financial Literacy Expansion Programme with Oriented Facilitators

Facilitators for the Ministry of Energy and Business’ National Financial Literacy Expansion Programme have been chosen, and the pilot phase of the new initiative will be launched on January 29.

This disclosure has come from the National Coordinator of the Ministry’s financial literacy initiative, David Simpson, who said the 15 facilitators recently underwent an orientation session, and they are well-equipped and eager to get into the classrooms in various primary and secondary schools.

“This pilot will target Second Form students in seven secondary schools and Class Two children in six primary schools, and once we see its outcome, then we will roll it out in more schools.

“We also have a community component which is currently being finalised. The facilitators will also be working with those households in the community, so it is a continuous process and not one time. We are considering bringing some pop-up events to each community, regardless of the ones we are targeting in the pilot, so we can continue that interaction with the public,” Simpson said.

The financial literacy consultant explained that the programme targets every citizen and resident, and its overall purpose is to improve their ability to manage money and create and generate wealth for their families now and in the future.

“The aim is to improve Barbadians’ relationship with money and this spans earning it, using it, saving it, and investing it. We realised from our research and interactions, over the past three and a half years, that while a lot of the things we engage in on a daily basis use or generate money, our relationship with it is not as sound as it should be,” he said. “We cannot ignore adults, but to seal what we want to do and see the future benefits, we need to get into the schools and start there. We want this to be a part of their lifestyle, so these are dedicated sessions on financial literacy. The hope is that we will be able to tie the schools’ programme to the community, and we will send correspondence to the parents outlining the programme, and encouraging them to be a part of it.”

Simpson pointed out that interactive workbooks outlining the topics to be addressed have been developed for the primary and secondary school students, and would be utilised. During the sessions, some of the areas to be addressed are Money Mindset; Earning Income; Spending (buying on budget); Saving; Borrowing and Lending; Managing Risks; and Cultivating Contentment.

The instructional designer of the workbooks, Lynda Woolford-Richards, explained that the publications were age-appropriate. She said the primary school children would have introductory concepts while the secondary school children would build on those.

“The younger children can follow their parents in how they manage their finances, so they can learn, while the secondary school children are more engaged in doing it on their own while collaborating with their parents,” she explained.

“Their responses are more practical because they may have more access to finances and they have the ability to manage their finances, so the level of critical thinking and creativity is going to be different for different ages.”

She encouraged those parents whose children are involved in the pilot project to be a part of the process and to participate in the challenges in the workbooks.

(BGIS)