As part of its political agenda for the upcoming 2023 election, Labour plans to make financial literacy education compulsory beginning 2025 to address the low level of money and budgeting skills among recent graduates and young adult Kiwis.
In a statement, Labour leader and prime minister Chris Hipkins said that young people will leave school knowing how to budget, open a bank account, manage bills, and save and invest their money as part of a financial skills in schools program.
“We want all young New Zealanders to leave school knowing how to manage their finances. It's too important to be left to chance,” Hipkins said in a report from RNZ. “Evidence tells us the current approach means too many students leave school without the financial skills they need. All young people will leave school with a core knowledge of saving, budgeting, banking, borrowing, bills, taxes, KiwiSaver, mortgages, and insurance.”
Education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said that this program would also make sure that teachers have enough resources, with schools also having the flexibility in the delivery of said program. That said, Tinetti expects that there will be essential learning outcomes at different year levels.
“An important part of our plan will be making sure teachers feel they have the necessary skills and resources to teach it, and that they need to prioritise it within their classrooms,” Tinetti said. “This won't be an extra demand on teachers, rather it will make sure they have what they need, including access to existing programmes and partnerships and support through the newly established curriculum centre at the Ministry of Education.”
Besides its outline for a more financially literate Aotearoa, the government also recently reached an agreement for Category 3 payouts for high-risk properties in Hawke’s Bay in a bid to make the country more resilient against future weather catastrophes.
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