[ACCI-CAVIE] The Ministry of Education and Sports (MOES) will next year roll out the Financial Literacy Programme in all primary schools in Uganda.

The programme is intended to educate the learners on how to earn, save and spend wisely.

The assistant commissioner in charge of private schools and institutions at the ministry, George Mutekanga, said the National Curriculum Development Centre together with his ministry have drafted a Financial Literacy curriculum that will be inculcated in the school program. “The National Curriculum center has already started on creating a Financial Literacy program and we have something in place. This is going to be rolled out, our biggest program is funding and the training,” Mutekanga said.

Junior Achievement Uganda (JA) together with Prudence Foundation introduced the ChaChing Financial Literacy Program for Primary School in 2017.

This year, over 3,700 pupils from 24 schools were reached with the program.

The programme was designed to equip seven to 12-year-olds with the knowledge, tools and practice they need to make informed financial decisions to reach their own personal goals and dreams.

ChaChing literally means ‘’To make the noise of coins falling’’Speaking during the closing event for the training programme at Nakasero Primary School in Kampala on Monday, Mutekanga said the ministry needs to identify people who would train as master trainers at district levels and trainers of trainers at school level, adding that they need to bring this out in all our schools in Uganda.

Mutekanga said at Primary Level Financial Literacy has not been emphasized adding that it is only in secondary schools where entrepreneurship has been part of the compulsory subjects taught, but at primary level they under look the importance of the subject.

The executive director Junior Achievement Uganda (JA) Rachael Mwagale said “We are looking at the MoES or Local Government to see how we can scale up this program in other areas and see how we can reach out pupils in all schools in Uganda,” Mwagala said.

She said, Cha-Ching teaches learners about the cycle of money and the choices to be made daily.

The curriculum adopts activities-based learning to enhance young minds with the knowledge, tools and practice they need to make informed financial decisions.

 The executive director Prudence Foundation, Marc Fancy said they introduced the program about 10 years after they realised a financial crisis, adding that they wanted to educate people about financial literacy since money affects everybody.

Fancy said that currently they are operating in 22 countries encouraging learners on how to earn and save. In Africa the program was introduced in eight countries in Africa including Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, Cameroon, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. The chief Corporate Officer Prudence Africa Rosalind Brown explained that the objective is financial literacy and they want to ensure that it is known from the children, which they can learn at an early age of 7year.

By Violet Nabatanzi and Juliet Waiswa