The BCRA Trained Teachers on Financial Education

The BCRA organized the “Virtual Training on Financial Education for Teachers” in cooperation with the Ministries of Education for the provinces of Catamarca and San Luis, which ended in past November.

The training sought to provide secondary school teachers of Economics and related courses with tools for encouraging students´ financial planning. During the course, teachers became acquainted with a series of activities, such as drawing up a personal or household budget, and had an insight into saving, bank accounts, means of payment, loans, and sustainable borrowing.

Within the framework of the program “We Keep on Educating”, the BCRA and the Argentine Ministry of Education developed this virtual training drawing on teaching material and guides for students. This activity serves as a scoring for rating teachers’ performance.

The training program was supported by BCRA’s tutors—from the Financial Education Management Office— who made a two-month follow-up on a digital platform free of charge.

The fact that training was virtual and for free was vital to reach committed teachers from isolated areas and rural schools: 60% of the participants (202) in Catamarca were teachers from remote areas. In the province of San Luis, 52% of the participants (232) were teachers from areas far from the capital city.

Teachers, supported by the BCRA, developed a project for students to share the knowledge and skills acquired with people close to them, such as members of their family, older adults, and neighbors. In practice, every teacher worked with a group of around 25 students who, in turn, shared their knowledge with 55 persons in each group, on average.

The BCRA will endeavor to keep on making arrangements with other provinces with a view to providing them with training on financial education across Argentina, in particular, reaching the most vulnerable areas.

December 1, 2020.