WE NEED FINANCIAL EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS AND EVERYWHERE ELSE

MICHAEL GR SIANUNGU

WE NEED FINANCIAL EDUCATION — IN SCHOOLS AND EVERYWHERE ELSE

We teach kids algebra before they can balance a bank account. We test them on Shakespeare before they understand interest. We send them into the world with certificates, but no compass for the one thing that will touch every part of their adult life: money. That’s why we need financial education in schools. And not only in schools. We need it in homes, churches, community halls, and on the radio. Because poverty isn’t just a lack of cash — it’s often a lack of knowledge.

First, let’s define it. Financial education is the skill set that helps people understand how money works. It’s learning how to earn, save, spend, invest, and protect what you have. It’s knowing the difference between a need and a want, between good debt and bad debt, between “I can afford the payments” and “I can afford the item.” It turns money from a mystery into a tool.

The importance of teaching this in schools cannot be overstated. Learning financial education early gives young people a head start on life. A 17-year-old who understands compound interest will make different choices at 25 than one who discovers it at 35 through debt. When we teach budgeting, saving, and basic investing in Grade 8, we develop the ability to manage money long before salaries, rent, and family responsibilities arrive. We are not just teaching math — we are shaping behavior.

Financial education helps youths make smart financial decisions. It’s the difference between taking a mobile loan for data versus taking one to start a small business. It’s knowing why saving K50 every week matters, even when it feels small. It reduces the trial-and-error that costs so many their 20s. People won’t be having challenges in saving, because saving stops being an afterthought and becomes a habit — like brushing your teeth.

It also encourages financial responsible behavior, and that protects more than your wallet. Poor money management is a silent trigger for stress, shame, and anxiety. When money is not well spent, it can have a negative effect on your mental health. Marriages break, sleep disappears, and self-worth drops — not always because there’s no money, but because there’s no plan. Financial education gives people that plan. It replaces panic with strategy.

This is why it’s very much important to introduce financial education in schools and in the society. A syllabus alone won’t fix it. We need parents who talk about budgets at the dinner table. We need pastors who preach stewardship with spreadsheets, not just scriptures. We need youth groups running mock investment clubs and communities hosting savings workshops. When financial literacy leaves the classroom and enters the culture, it will really benefit a lot of people.

After learning financial education, young people will be able to spend money wisely. They’ll know how to delay gratification, spot scams, and build emergency funds. And yes — they will be able to become successful entrepreneurs. Because business isn’t started with capital alone. It’s started with understanding cash flow, pricing, profit margins, and risk. Teach a child to manage K100 well, and you’ve trained an adult who can manage K100,000.

We’ve normalized teaching young people how to make money through careers. It’s time we normalized teaching them how to keep it, grow it, and use it without being used by it. The next generation shouldn’t have to learn about credit at the bank, after the damage is done. They should learn it at a desk, before the world gets a chance to confuse them.

Financial education is not a subject. It’s survival. Put it in the schools. Preach it in the society. And watch what happens when we raise a generation that’s not just educated, but empowered.

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