As part of a major boost to financial education over the past two years, the BCRA has trained 2,240 teachers through the program “Financial Education in the Classroom”. These teachers give lessons to more than 150,000 secondary school students in a year, with an additional impact on more than 65,000 family members and other citizens of their communities.
The program has been successfully implemented in the provinces of Catamarca, Chaco, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Fe, and Neuquén.
It is a federal program based on agreements signed by the BCRA with several provinces to promote financial education across the country, giving priority to the most vulnerable areas.
The Word of Teachers of the 2020 and 2021 Programs
During the past two years of training, teachers, students, families, and the community worked on financial planning tools. The virtual format allowed for the participation of a large number of schools in rural areas (20.5% out of the total). Some teachers of the 2020 and 2021 programs explained the positive impact of financial education in a video. The teachers mentioned the importance of teaching contents to students who usually do not have access to them. “I am learning and acquiring knowledge for our school,” pointed out Aníbal Espejo, teacher at the municipality of Rivadavia, province of San Juan.
María Eugenia Santillán, professor at the city of Sáenz Peña, province of Chaco, outlined the importance of this training and said: “I liked it because I finally found training in economics.”
The teachers also remarked that the program provides practical knowledge that addresses students’ needs and interests. “It is very good because it shows the reality of life, and that is what our teenagers are lacking,” said Elina Avila, from Ceres, province of Santa Fe. Marcos López, who teaches at the municipality of Nolgolí, province of San Luis, highlighted the importance of encouraging students to apply their knowledge to the matters of their interest.
In turn, Fátima Gutiérrez, from Tinogasta, province of Catamarca, mentioned the recording and playback of a podcast in a local radio to spread the knowledge across the community even further.
Lastly, Guillermo Ramírez, teacher at Cutral-Có, province of Neuquén, stressed the importance of the relationship with the BCRA, which will provide continuity to financial education programs at the school.
Promoting Financial Education
Financial education is a pillar among the BCRA's policies as it is a key instrument to strengthen users’ knowledge and skills and to boost the financial inclusion of the most vulnerable sectors.
In 2021, the BCRA provided training, through the Finance Nearby program, to 814 trainers from Santa Fe, San Juan and Neuquén, who are key agents in organizations that provide assistance to various target groups.
In turn, trainers provided training—mainly in person—to different groups. This way, the BCRA widens its scope of action by training groups of local key agents thanks to the agreements signed with each jurisdiction.
Gradually, these programs will continue to expand to reach the entire country, consolidating the work with teachers, students and their families, rural schools, and different sectors of the community and agents of the popular economy.
March 12, 2022