Education is vital in the development sphere. But, this is a big category in which it is possible to consider several types, even Economic and Financial Education (EFE).
The EFE should be treated as the key point in the global policy agenda because this kind of education aims to empower people. The purpose of EFE is to improve trainees´ financial and economic skills. They use those skills to make better decisions in their own lives. That is because educated people on Economics and Finance can understand the economic system in which they play.
Analogically, EFE is a bus which conduces societies towards development. The bus driver represents the government whose main task is to leads the population to reach better levels of life. The development journey should be settled in an economic plan because social progress is not trivial. In other words, there is not possible to improvise about the progress.
During their administration periods, governments must implement the referred plan. (It is relevant to indicate that to maintain democratic and peaceful conditions, that bus requires drivers alternation).
On the other hand, every passenger on this bus should know the destination because they have to do a plan to achieve their own economic goals. Along this journey, the State’s role is to provide and protect the needed conditions for development, such as security, legal infrastructure, public goods, natural environment, human rights, private property, justice, and economic freedom, etc.
EFE is in line with the Millennium Development Goals, especially to the 8th. This goal emphasizes the duty “to develop a global partnership for development”. Hence, education should be the core of that association because it has the power to transform social circumstances positively.
Unfortunately, education is misconstrued as a privilege by many governments globally. Contrary to rights, “privilege” means a particular prize given to someone segregating the rest of the people. In contrast, everyone everywhere has the right to be educated despite his/her gender, race, age, faith, ethnic heritage, social status, and economic conditions. Thus, the guarantee of education right should be a State’s duty.
The States have to lead EFE through public policies for children and youth. So, why should we educate children and youth people in Economics and Finance? Children and youth should receive training about how to manage money according to both general conditions and individual circumstances.
All in all, EFE should be a global commitment to achieve development. The best resource for doing that is to focus on doing public policies about Economic and Financial Education for children and youth. As a result of proper public policies on EFE, probably, people understand better their economic background and make better decisions daily.
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