FINANCIAL LITERACY PROGRAM

public school teachers are 50% more likely to borrow money than other professionals such as nurses and the police.

Admittedly, Briones said they know there are many teachers who also use their credit cards as collateral for loans, and when they retire, a lot of teachers end up not having any savings.

— oOo—

The author is Teacher III at Sapang Uwak High School, Sapang Uwak, Porac Pampanga

EMMANUEL BUAN GOMEZ

For us Filipinos, money management is a challenge. This is the reason why the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), together with BDO Foundation and the Department of Education (DepEd), launched the nationwide Financial Literacy Program for Schools to benefit public school teachers and students.

Surveys have shown that Filipinos always score low when it comes to financial literacy surveys in Asia. Now, this is a sad fact – which must change for the better.

This is why DepEd hopes that with the new program on financial education, students can grow responsibly when it comes to handling their own finances.

According to Education Secretary Leonor Briones, financial literacy is a challenge that the education sector must face. She cited that financial education initiatives have been integrated into the K to 12 Basic Education Program as well as in the in-service training (INSET) program for teachers and school’s non-teaching personnel.

The said partnership includes distribution of videos and learning materials that the teachers can use to learn how to control their own finance and for classroom instructions.

BSP Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr., meanwhile, also shared that the financial literacy program was also created for the growing concern on the public school teachers’high propensity to borrow. The Philippine Institute of Developmental Studies (PIDS) has found out that