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From 2025, the discipline “Entrepreneurship and financial literacy” will be taught in the 8th grade, and from 2026 – in the 9th grade, respectively. Now the subject is available in grades 2-11 as a selective or elective.
In some educational institutions, appropriate circles are also created. This is stated on the NUS website.
In November 2023, the new model curriculum “Entrepreneurship and financial literacy. Grades 8-9”, created at the initiative of the National Bank, was approved by the Ministry of Education and Culture.
The course program consists of 2 parts and contains 8 separate sections. The first part – for 8th grade. Here, the educational material is designed for 17 hours and involves the study of two sections:
- “Formation of financial culture” – within its limits, students are offered to study the topic “Financial well-being, financial stability and formation of financial culture”. This section should interest children in a new subject and give a general understanding of it;
- “Fundamentals of human financial literacy”– it will cover basic knowledge and skills in the field of management, such as financial life planning, savings rules, bank account and payment card, payment for goods and services, financial fraud and security, choosing a personal form of employment, tax culture and charity culture.
The second part – for 9th grade. The training material is designed for 35 hours and involves mastering six sections:
- “Money and its purpose”– about the evolution of monetary relations: types, forms and functions of money, the history of the modern hryvnia;
- “Banking and non-banking financial institutions” – about the banking system in Ukraine, non-banking financial institutions;
- “Basic financial services”– offer to study such topics as financial services, deposits, guaranteeing deposits of individuals, loans, building a credit history, insurance, pension provision, financial investments and risks;
- “Protection of the rights of consumers of financial services”
- strong> – in this section, students will study the legislation of Ukraine in the field of financial services and the protection of consumer rights;
- “Fundamentals of entrepreneurship” – here the main attention will be paid to entrepreneurial activity as one of the forms of employment of the population and its role in the development of the state;
- “Project “School entrepreneurship – from idea to implementation (practical case)” – at this stage, students will engage in school entrepreneurship, form teams, draw up business plans, present and implement their projects.
As stated in the program, by studying entrepreneurship and financial literacy, students will be able to:
- form a conscious and responsible attitude to personal finances and to money as a necessary resource;
- set financial goals, develop planning, budgeting;
- gain practical experience in using financial services;
- form a culture of charity;
- develop the ability to generate new business ideas and implement them.
More about the content course and types of educational activities offered to apprentices, read in the model curriculum at the link.
In general, in the 8th grade, 0.5 hours per week are provided for this subject, which can be read during one semester. In the 9th grade, the program provides 1 hour. However, in the updated Standard Educational Program for grades 5-9, a minimum load of 0.5 hours is offered. And teachers will be able to choose an additional 0.5 hours due to the variable part, – shares Viktoria Rolik, chief expert of public relations and financial awareness management of the National Bank of Ukraine.
However, according to her, the main task set by the authors of the course, – to talk about financial literacy and entrepreneurship not only in theory, but to show children how everything happens in practice. Therefore, the entire program and materials are focused on a practical approach. Because the amount of money is not so important as whether they know how to manage it correctly.
We want to teach children with the help of simple actions, such as managing their budget, the rules of bank calculations, choosing personal form of employment, etc., to become financially independent people, – says the expert.
In July 2024, the NBU started training teachers of those schools that will pilot the subject “Entrepreneurship and financial literacy”. In total, approximately 200 teachers attended the four-week training this year. During the course, they attended 8 online webinars on 15 topics, took tests and received handouts. After completing the course and successfully passing the final test, teachers received a certificate for 20 hours or 0.7 ECTS credits.