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The Centre for University and School Partnership (CUSP) of the Faculty of Education of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is launching “The Chin Family Financial Literate Schools Programme” (The Programme). Commissioned by the Investor and Financial Education Council (IFEC), it aims at further promoting financial education in the primary schools of Hong Kong through whole-school participation. In three years, 20 primary schools will receive support to become “Centres of Excellence” which will give guidance to implementing financial education for other schools. The launch ceremony and a financial education forum were held yesterday (4 March) at CUHK. Officiating at the ceremony were Mr Lester Huang, Chairman of IFEC, Mr David Kneebone, General Manager of IFEC, Professor Alvin Leung, Dean of Education CUHK, and Co-Directors of the Programme, Professor Alan Cheung and Professor Terence Chong. 

The financial market and our society have advanced swiftly and become more complex, so that strengthening financial literacy among students at an early age has become essential in preparing them for future challenges. For instance, the students’ concept of money needs strengthening because electronic payment, which has come with technological advancement, has weakened it. The need is also recognised internationally. Financial literacy was included in the Programme of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for International Student Assessment, and national financial education frameworks have been developing among countries including the US and the UK. 

Professor Alvin Leung, Dean of Education of CUHK, said, in his welcoming speech, “Virtues are the foundation of healthy financial behaviour. So, the Programme not only applies the Hong Kong Financial Competency Framework, but also cultivates the  relevant virtues, with the aim of developing good global citizens for the future.” 

Chairman of IFEC, Mr Lester Huang said, “‘The Chin Family Financial Literate School Programme’ provides students with diversified learning opportunities inside and outside  their classroom. It also provides workshops for teachers and parents. As a result, model schools with a culture emphasising virtues and financial literacies are developed. By inspiring more schools to join the Programme and, in a joint objective, cultivating a coming generation that is finance literate and virtuous, the Programme will improve the financial capability of Hong Kong people in the long run.” 

Professor Alan Cheung, Project Co-director, said, “Developmental work in the subject-curriculum level of the Programme does not intent to add extra lessons in the current curriculum. On the contrary, the Programme encourages schools to build on the existing strengths of their school-based curriculum and to deepen the curriculum contents related to financial education and virtues.” 

After the launch ceremony, a financial education forum was held in which teachers, students, and parents from the Finance Literate Schools provided their views on “Should Primary 3 students be given pocket money” and “Should primary students lend money to  their schoolmates?” and the guests responded to them. The forum reflected on the current financial issues primary students face and generated ideas as to how students can be prepared for “wealth” and guided in “virtues”. 

Ms Sylvia Chan May-kuen, Principal of Ma On Shan Ling Liang Primary School who hosted the forum, said “We need to improve students’ financial concepts and capabilities, so as to raise stronger pillars of society that are prudent.” 

Currently, there are problems with financial behaviour and room for improvement in many aspects of primary students’ school lives. There is the frequent loss of personal belongs, overconsumption of stationary, overspending during study tours, and borrowing regardless of their capacity to return. Through deepening the development of the school-based curriculum, the Programme aims at developing students with improved financial literacy and virtues including “prudence, temperance, honesty, diligence, and responsibility”. 

About the Chin Family Financial Literate Schools Programme
Commissioned by the Investor and Financial Education Council, the Programme supports schools to adopt a whole-school approach and to deepen school-based curriculum development by integrating financial and values education. The Finance Literate Schools will receive professional support from CUSP in three levels including “Subject curriculum level”, “Non-subject curriculum level” and the “Environmental level”. Together with parental education, the Programme supports schools in developing as Finance Literate Schools of Excellence, in which students are educated to become good citizens in terms of “wealth” and “virtues”. In this year, the Programme partnered with five primary schools located in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon East, Kowloon West, New Territories East, and New Territories West. It is also intended that other schools and students can benefit from the experience distilled from this year’s five project schools.

Project Schools of the Chin Family Financial Literate Schools Programme in 2018-19 academic year:

• C.C.C. Kei Wa Primary School (Kowloon Tong)
• F.D.B.W.A. Chow Chin Yau School
• King’s College Old Boys’ Association Primary School
• Tai Po Old Market Public School (Plover Cove)
• Tseung Kwan O Government Primary School 

About the Centre for University and School Partnership (CUSP)
CUSP was established in 1998 to foster a mutually beneficial relationship between CUHK and education practitioners to promote all-round quality education in Hong Kong. In collaboration, over the years, with over 1,500 schools ranging from kindergartens to secondary schools, CUSP has been devoted to supporting schools in implementing comprehensive development projects towards quality education by means of healthy collaborative relationships and a self-refining mechanism. Positive feedback has been widely received, acknowledging its efforts.

Website: https://www.fed.cuhk.edu.hk/cusp/en/