-Reshma Ravishanker
Although covered as part of their curriculum in schools, 50 % of students do not even understand basic financial concepts, according to a survey conducted by Countingwell, a mathematics edtech platform.
Releasing a nationwide survey where 418 students between grades 6 and 8 were surveyed, Countingwell stated that that basic understanding of financial concepts such as loans and savings was “astonishingly poor” among these students. The survey, however, found that 88% of respondents were keen on knowing concepts of money management.
Citing an example, surveyors said that students were unaware that making an EMI purchase was equivalent to that of taking a loan. 25 % of students did not know that interest had to be paid on any loan taken while 60 % had little knowledge about earning an interest from their savings bank account. These numbers were particularly high among students in the non-metros.
However, 72% of the surveyed students also said they were aware of the risks of taking excessive loans, while 88% of students said that they wanted to learn more about managing their money. The survey further asked participating students about managing their pocket money. While 50% of respondents said they regularly receive pocket money from their parents, nearly 86% of these also managed to save some money.
Nearly half of the survey respondents were from non-metro cities. “Financial literacy is a practical and important aspect of life that middle school students must learn and understand well. However, the survey findings make it evident that there are huge gaps in understanding of basic financial concepts among a large proportion of these students,” said Nirmal Shah, co-founder of Countingwell.
Shah also felt that schools ought to reconsider the ways in which the basics of finance were introduced to students. “The habit of managing or saving money in general needs to be inculcated in students by teaching them to apply the same principles of principal and interest, budgets, taxes, and loans, that they learn as part of their maths curriculum. It is only when we teach our children about being smarter with their money from an early age that they will become financially prudent as they grow up,” Shah added.
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