Bank of Russia, Ministry of Education and Science sign cooperation agreement
On 8 September 2016, the Bank of Russia and the Ministry of Education and Science signed a Cooperation Agreement to enhance financial literacy of the population of the Russian Federation.
The document was signed by Natalya Tretyak, First Deputy Minister of Education and Science, and Sergei Shvetsov, First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia.
The Agreement envisages interaction to promote financial literacy basics in the Russia educational system, in particular, participation of the bank’s specialists in methodical monitoring of implementation of financial literacy federal governmental educational standards.
Within three months after the document has been signed, a road map will be developed with a plan of concrete events scheduled to implement the Agreement.
‘This Agreement is a result of our years long efforts aimed at the establishment of financial literacy with Russian school children’, says Natalya Tretyak. – ‘Modern school should not provide solid academic knowledge only, but it should prepare graduates to the adult life as well. Our children should have the knowledge they could use in practice.’
Todays’ exemplary basic and secondary general education programme does include modules on financial literacy basics. By the decision of school administration the course can be added to both compulsory disciplines ‘Social Science’ or ‘Economics’ and be given an extra discipline status at pupils’ discretion.
‘The Agreement signed with the Ministry of Education and Science will allow us to optimise our efforts and develop a quality programme, properly form target audiences and develop its specifics to meet pupils’ needs’ , says Sergei Shvetsov. – ‘We also have higher educational institutions, and students will benefit from this knowledge as well. There is a category of socially vulnerable people, such as orphanage children who have their own problems and who also need to know how to get these problems resolved. Much needs to be done but we have already managed to make certain progress. We are still at an early stage of the project, and we will work efficiently for the sake of our people’.
In February 2016, the Academy of Advanced Training and Professional Retraining of educational workers under the Ministry of Education and Science launched a financial literacy programme to train tutors (education coordinators) and retrain teachers. Education is carried out on a permanent basis with participation of Bank of Russia specialists. All specialists who joined the programme and completed the course received advanced training certificates. About 200 tutors completed their retraining in 2016 H1. Education is expected to go on with the next course to start on September 20.
By Bank of Russia initiative an educational package called Financial Literacy Basics was developed by A. Chumachenko and V. Goryayev for senior pupils which was preliminary accessed by the Russian Academy of Education. In its conclusion the Academy pointed out that the contents of educational materials is up-to-date and the methodology used by the authors promotes the ability to reasonably express one’s point of view and provides for the formation of independent training skills. Besides, the educational package has been reviewed by Bank of Russia experts recently. Its first edition was published by Prosveshcheniye publishing house. Currently it is coming on the market.
In 2016, right on the eve of the academic year, an all-Russian contest for the best financial literacy educational programme was launched. The contest was organised by Prosveshcheniye publishing house and the Sapphire Association of professional financial market participants with support from the Bank of Russia and the Academy of Advanced Training and Professional Retraining of educational workers under the Ministry of Education and Science who intend to review the entire spectre of existing Russian financial literacy programmes and select the best ones in order to recommend their implementation on mass basis.
