Sir, The proposed new school subject in “economic wellbeing and financial capability” (report, “Children to get lessons in money – and debt”, July 9) is much needed and very timely for teenagers in the UK.
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants believes that school pupils should be taught about tax, savings, debt and pensions to prepare them for adult life, and we hope the new syllabus will focus on these issues. Basic lessons that explain how and why tax and national insurance are paid may help to alleviate continuing and longer-term problems as young people undertake the transition from dependence to independence.
ALLEN BLEWITT, Chief Executive, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
Sir, We applaud the Government’s initiative to improve the level of personal finance and enterprise teaching in the national curriculum but Ed Balls needs to recognise that there is no quick fix to improving financial literacy in our society.
We currently run programmes for local schools that teach students about the City, what it means to invest and how the stock market works. When we first instituted this programme, we were concerned that students would find it boring, but it has actually proved very popular. The key to success has been making it relevant to the students’ lives – once they recognise the direct benefits of improved financial knowledge, they become interested.
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We run programmes to bring an entrepreneurial perspective into the classroom. We find one of the key reasons teachers don’t teach business and enterprise in the classroom is because of a lack of confidence. Often they have not had direct exposure to business and are therefore uncomfortable teaching it.
This must not boil down to just another target to pile on our already pressured teachers.
PROFESSOR RICHARD VERRALL and PROFESSOR JULIE LOGAN, Cass Business School, London EC1
Sir, If English schools cannot provide sufficient specialist subject teachers, how will they be able to teach financial education? Unless financial education is taught by properly trained and qualified teachers it will be a futile exercise.
MELVYN STOBO, Carnwath, Lanarks
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Sir, Your disturbing article about primary and secondary school teaching missed the truly scary situation in universities. If students knew just how badly qualified their lecturers were, they would consider the high fees an outrage.
The fastest way for students to close down a British university would be for them to demand value for money and to know the verified qualifications of their lecturers.
DAVID ROBINSON, Luton, Beds
Sir, Ed Balls really should refrain from lumbering the schools with yet another unnecessary addition to the curriculum.
The Leitch report says that five million are functionally innumerate and 17 million cannot work out change. Surely schools should persevere in their efforts to turn out students who are literate and numerate, without being sidetracked.
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Students thus equipped are capable, if they wish, of calculating the cost of loans for themselves. But those who leave semi-literate are unlikely as adults to remedy the deficiencies in their education.
DONALD HOSKINS, Edinburgh