Nanaimo school district staff is examining whether a pilot project related to dollars is necessary, and financial experts say it makes sense.
Following a May business committee presentation by school trustee Jeff Solomon, the board directed staff to examine the need to establish a financial literacy pilot project. A report is expected before January.
Solomon cited a similar pilot in Ontario that sought to update a Grade 10 careers course and have financial literacy integrated into the curriculum. Financial literacy is a component of some subjects in Nanaimo district, such as business education, but there is no specific course dedicated to it.
Shahriar Hasan, VIU finance professor, says learning about finances early is invaluable.
“That’s where it is the most important because you form your habit at a younger age of thinking about where to keep your money, how to use your money properly and things like that and that actually creates a group of savers, which is good for the country,” he said. “So I would say that a young age, especially in high school, that’s where it is the most important.”
Daniel Martinez, a wealth manager with Integral Wealth Securities Ltd. Nanaimo and a Vancouver Island University finance instructor who has made presentations on the junior achievement program at Dover Bay Secondary, echoed Hasan’s sentiments, saying one only needs to take a look at statistics to see the value.
“Most are aware of the debt levels that we’re seeing in Canada these days – $2 trillion at the end of 2016. The ratio of debt to income that most people quote is at 167 right now, which basically means that for every dollar of disposable income that we have, Canadians have a $1.67 in debt.
“As a reference, the Americans had $1.65 during the financial crisis of 2008, so that sort of sparked a bunch of concerns related to it and I’m sure that anything like this is super useful for anyone in Canada,” said Martinez.
reporter@nanaimobulletin.com