News
Citi Handlowy CEO Calls for Development of National Financial Education Strategy
Slawomir S. Sikora, Chief Executive Officer of Citi Handlowy, has
invited public institutions and non-governmental organizations to take an active
role in formulating a 'National Financial Education Strategy'. The National
Financial Education Strategy, which is being developed, is intended to define and
prioritize main financial education objectives as well as determine their
feasibility. It will set financial education teaching standards.
Competent institutions will be assigned tasks in the area of teaching
finances to children and adults. A special program promoting equal opportunity for
access to professional knowledge for the unbanked population will be developed. The
Kronenberg Foundation of Citi Handlowy has already been working intensively on
formulating the National Financial Education Strategy.
The results of the survey
"Poles' Attitudes Towards Saving" conducted in October 2008 by Pentor at the request of
the Kronenberg Foundation, stated, "A mere 10 percent of Poles rate their financial
knowledge as 'good' or 'very good'. Only half of the respondents would like to improve
it and those who are not interested in enhancing their financial literacy learn about
finances from their own mistakes. Therefore, the need to develop the National Financial
Education Strategy for Poland is an urgent one and should prevail over political
disagreements.
National financial education strategies have already been
successfully implemented by such countries as Spain, Great Britain and Ireland but, it
is the Czech approach to teaching finance that is recommended to all Member States by
the European Commission as a model to follow. The "National Financial Education
Strategy" in the Czech Republic was developed under the supervision of the Ministry of
Finance. It is a 19-page document defining and diagnosing the problem of low financial
literacy. It identifies tasks and assigns them to competent institutions. In the Czech
Republic. financial education is viewed as a key element of consumer protection on the
financial market. Financial education programs are offered to all age groups. In the
Czech Republic the financial education strategy is implemented by both public
institutions and non-governmental organizations.
The European Commission and OECD
have also examined the general financial education levels in member states. In the
reports it contains information on good practices and financial education schemes
implemented by member states. Financial education is becoming a very important element
of citizenship education that is aimed at building a more responsible society taking an
active role in decision-making processes.