Yemisi Izuora
The Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, is working at introducing capital market studies, CMS, into schools curriculum having succeeded in signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC).
Director General of SEC, Mounir Gwarzo said the Commission has worked hard to widen financial literacy over time because it realised the importance for students to imbibe the culture and habit of being financial literate and to be familiar with the operations of the capital market.
Gwarzo expressed enthusiasm that the collaboration will yield desired results as the MoU stated the different stages of implementation, adding that the initiative is part of the implementation of the Capital Market Master Plan.
He expressed the belief that the MoU will galvanise the collaboration between the two parties for an effective implementation of the initiative.
The CMPP clearly states the need for the SEC to inculcate the culture of financial literacy and specifically to introduce Capital Market Studies into curriculum at all levels of education and to encourage CMS as a degree programme in the tertiary institutions.
In 2014, SEC developed a 10-year Capital Market Master Plan (CMMP) and one of the essential elements of the plan is the introduction of Capital Market Studies into schools curricula at all levels of education.
Towards giving effect to the foregoing, the SEC resolved to resuscitate its collaborative efforts with NERDC which dates back to 2003.
It would be recalled that in 2007, attempt by the SEC in collaboration with NERDC to develop and infuse CMS into six identified subjects did not see the light of the day.
In an effort to resuscitate the previous collaboration, the SEC noted that the success of the previous attempt was truncated due primarily to the absence of a working instrument to guide the implementation of the initiative.