THE GOVERNMENT hopes to make a nine-module interactive financial education program available online by January, citing the need to promote broader financial literacy.
At the 2023 Financial Education (Fin-Ed) Stakeholders Congress on Tuesday, David B. Bungallon, executive director at the National Institute for Technical Education and Skills Development, an arm of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), said the e-learning module is currently being pilot tested.
“We will perfect it (for) launch with the permission of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). It will be launched by January,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Fin-Ed Congress.
Mr. Bungallon added: “But of course, teaching it face to face is another thing. We’ll look into this. I think in every program, there are challenges, but we will always (strive to make) this little program successful.”
The Fin-Ed Congress introduced the e-learning modules to the public. It was co-developed by the BSP, TESDA, and BDO Foundation.
The central bank has said that the Fin-Ed e-Learning Course will tackle financial planning, saving and budgeting, debt and investment management, digital-financial literacy, fraud and scam prevention, the Personal Equity and Retirement Account, and financial-consumer protection.
The modules will be uploaded to e-learning platforms of the central bank and its fin-ed partners once available, the BSP has said.
The BSP and BDO Foundation also handed over new financial education training manuals to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) personnel.
The manuals are targeted at AFP uniformed and civilian personnel.
In October 2021, the AFP issued a directive calling for financial literacy modules in career courses for officers, enlisted personnel, and AFP-employed civilians.
The financial education partnership, which began in 2019, is being pursued as part of the BSP’s National Strategy for Financial Inclusion and BDO Foundation’s financial inclusion advocacy. — Keisha B. Ta-asan
