Data on Government's Financial Literacy Initiatives for Young Persons
Prime Minister's OfficeSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the government’s financial literacy initiatives for youth, their participation rates, and effectiveness metrics, as raised by Ms See Jinli Jean. Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong replied that financial education is embedded in the national curriculum from primary to tertiary levels, with polytechnics and universities offering specific investment modules. MoneySense, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and the National Youth Council also engage youths through social media, campus carnivals, and discussions on money management. Findings from the 2021 National Financial Capability Survey indicate that youths generally possess higher financial literacy levels compared to the general population. Regarding digital assets, the government continues to warn against speculative cryptocurrency trading, emphasizing its lack of intrinsic value and price volatility through targeted social media collaborations.
Transcript
1 Ms See Jinli Jean asked the Prime Minister (a) what are the initiatives introduced by the Government to guide young persons to develop financial literacy, including the sensible investing in digital assets; (b) what is the percentage of young persons participating in these initiatives; and (c) what are metrics that the Government is monitoring to evaluate the initiatives' effectiveness.
Mr Lawrence Wong (for the Prime Minister): Financial literacy education is incorporated into the curriculum from the primary to the tertiary level. Students from the Polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education take financial education modules that encourage sound financial habits and cover the fundamentals of investment literacy. At the Autonomous Universities, students can access course modules to build up their investment literacy, or participate in various campus activities, workshops and talks to learn about good money management and financial planning. The Ministry of Education regularly reviews its financial literacy programmes to keep up to date with the evolving financial landscape.
Beyond schools and tertiary institutions, MoneySense supports youths with access to financial literacy messages that supplement what they have learnt in school. These include talks on how to invest, and the virtual My Money@Campus carnivals that feature interactive learning and game booths. MoneySense, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and the National Youth Council (NYC) has also collaborated with social media content partners to engage youths on topical issues such as overspending on luxuries. Together with the NYC, MoneySense also organises regular engagement sessions with youths to discuss issues, such as good financial habits, investments and scams. The MoneySense National Financial Capability Survey (NFCS) 2021, which seeks to better understand behaviour in dealing with financial matters, attitudes towards financial planning issues and general financial knowledge, found that compared with the general population of Singapore, youths generally had higher levels of financial literacy.
Regarding digital assets, MAS has consistently warned the public against trading in cryptocurrencies given their lack of intrinsic value, volatile prices and highly speculative nature. MoneySense regularly amplifies these warnings to youths on social media, including through collaborations with content creators.