VietNamNet Bridge – Another 82 high schools in HCM City will offer financial education classes as part of a soft-skills training programme for the upcoming academic year, according to the city's Department of Education and Training.

Illustrative image. (Source: Internet)

The classes are part of the department's Smart Star project, carried out with the co-operation of Save the Children International and under the sponsorship of the Citi Foundation.

Financial education classes were first offered in four high schools in the 2009-10 academic year, and then 82 high schools last year were chosen to offer the classes.

For the upcoming school year, 10th graders at all of the 182 high schools in the city will take six 45-minute classes in financial education.

Nguyen Hoai Chuong, the department's deputy head, said the classes were important in teaching money-management skills.

He said that many students live away from home or study abroad, and they need to know how to spend properly and plan for their future.

Many students who have taken the classes have opened savings accounts, according to the Viet Nam-based Save the Children.

According to a survey of 5,196 students at the 82 high schools that currently hold such classes, 56 per cent of them said they made monthly expenditure lists.

The survey showed that 22.8 per cent of them had saved 10 per cent of their monthly allowances from parents over a three-month period.

More than 17 per cent of them saved 10-20 per cent of their monthly allowances, and 17.2 per cent spent only half of their allowances.

Of the students surveyed, 60 per cent said that they would use savings accounts and ATMs.

At least 95 per cent of 614 students in seven high schools saw the necessity of such skills, according to a survey conducted by Save the Children International. Of those students, 57.2 per cent felt confident about their money management.

Source: VNS