On top of standard subjects, Chinese student may soon be learning about financial charts and investing in the stock market in schools across the country. China's Securities Regulatory Commission and its education ministry are reportedly planning to include financial education in national curriculums for primary and middle schools across the country. Officials have so far agreed that including these subjects in national schools will greatly benefit young Chinese students.
According to Securities Regulatory Commission spokeswoman Gao Li, her agency is now working closely with the education ministry to formulate a plan to include financial education in the national curriculum. The aim of the project would be to financially educate Chinese citizens and raise investor awareness at an early age. Subjects will reportedly teach Chinese students about futures, securities, stock trading, financial charts, and other investment topics.
While the plan will be to incorporate these subjects on financial literacy in national curriculums, it will apparently not be compulsory. The agency will allow schools to opt out of the plan, but they are encouraging them to include them anyway given the advantage and value it will give their students.
Different schools and universities have also been encouraged to come up with their own investment and financial management courses, and perhaps even partner with financial institutions to make their courses more educational. Meanwhile, the securities regulator and the education ministry will be coming up with their own financial education program that will sport different learning resources.
Hundreds of schools in China already include investment knowledge programs in their curriculums. According to the government agency, more than 500 schools around the country offer some form of financial literacy subjects. However, these types of subjects are still not part of the national curriculum. One of the first schools to include financial education in their curriculums were those that were located in Shanghai. Other cities, where a lot of people invest in the stocks, also started offering financial education programs. While the goal of the project is primarily to provide financial knowledge, some have criticized the move. According to critics, providing this type of knowledge at such as young age may actually encourage students to speculate on the stock market.
Some parents have also expressed concern that they might not be able to keep up with their children who are taking these subjects and they may end up actually losing money if improperly taught. Guangzhou's education bureau had defended their plans to include these types of course by saying that raising financial awareness at a young age will actually be very beneficial to students, especially when they grow up and become contributing members of society.
