Why Your Children Need Financial Education.
On Tuesday evening , a hashtag highlighting the plight of university students on a popular Kenyan institution on Twitter reinforces the need of introducing financial literacy programs in the education curriculum. Apparently, some students in the higher learning institution have been starving after the financial support from the Higher Educations Loans Board (HELB)delayed.
The Higher Educations Loan Board is a statutory body established by an act of the Kenyan parliament to disburse loans to needy Kenyan students pursuing university education. For years now, students have been getting direct financial assistance every academic year that should enable them become independent. Yet, here is a youthful population that should define the pace of development and security of a nation heavily dependent on loans for survival. The Department of Youth development through its empowerment programs offers micro credit facilities to alleviate the group from poverty, a solution to the high numbers of unemployment but detrimental to a populace with no requisite skills in making wise financial decisions.
According to an online survey conducted by Financially Fit Africa, 55% of the students offered educational loans use it to purchase consumer goods that depreciate in value overtime and are hardly of importance. The purpose of purchasing these goods is to flex their temporary financial muscles to other students who are equally financially dependent on their parents or to improve their living standards. A loan offered in the value of $370- $1000 per year depending on the level of financial needs of a student should be enough venture capital for a lucrative business. Financial literacy classes should have taught these students this, plus saving and investing while young.
“Given the right combination of motivation, ideas and opportunities , the youth are more than able to establish productive and creative businesses.” (Chigunta 2005.)
For a headline to read that students are going to bed hungry, then we need to reevaluate where as a nation we are headed. Plunging into debt at the age of 20, mismanaging your finances in the pretext of being young enough to make mistakes and learn from them is enough of a wake up call for actions towards self sufficiency and social dependence.
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