British life insurer Pru Life UK reinforced its advocacy on financial literacy at the Fourth Cha-Ching Educators' Conference on Financial Literacy, held at the I'M Hotel in Makati on October 26 to 27.
Themed "Scaling faster and raising financial literacy to new heights," the two-day conference included workshops and presentations aimed at further developing the financial literacy knowledge of about 300 Cha-Ching teachers from public and private elementary schools across the country. It also provided the teachers with a venue to learn and exchange strategies on the best practices of teaching financial literacy and outcomes of the Cha-Ching curriculum among the partner schools.
The discussions were led by a line-up of speakers who imparted their knowledge and expertise in their respective fields. Giving an overview of financial planning and entrepreneurship were Professor Edwin Suson of the University of Santo Tomas; founder, chairman and CEO of Personal Finance Advisers Philippines Corporation Efren Cruz; and 9 to 5 Millionaire author Leila Hernandez.
Completing the roster of speakers were Prudence Foundation Regional Programmes Manager Nicole Ngeow and Junior Achievement Asia Pacific President Vivian Lau who both talked about the best practices and outcomes of the Cha-Ching curriculum; lecturer and subject matter specialist Mr. Jason Cruz who tackled the use of social media in institutionalizing financial education; General Mariano Alvarez Technical High School Master Teacher II Dr. Rizal Vidallo.
Pru Life UK Financial Literacy Educator Awardees for 2015 and 2016 Marlon Roperos and James Earn Esperida, respectively, also discussed the best practices in teaching financial literacy in schools, together with Department of Education (DepEd) Guro ng Pag-asa 2012 Awardee Violeta Roson.
“This Conference serves as a testimony to Pru Life UK’s commitment to provide the Filipino and his family financial protection and thereby uplift his quality of life,” said Pru Life UK Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Allan Tumbaga, “With us in this journey are 800 private and public educational institutions nationwide and 3,600 teachers, and we have reached more than 180,000 students so far. This gives us hope that together, we can help shape a more financially literate Filipino community.”
Bringing the Cha-Ching milestone to new heights
As Pru Life UK’s flagship corporate social responsibility program to support education and the development of Children, Cha-Ching is the first multi-country, multi-platform program that aims to help parents in Asia teach children basic money management skills of Earn, Save, Spend, and Donate to children aged seven to 12. It was launched in Hong Kong in 2011 by Prudential Corporation Asia, the regional headquarters of Pru Life UK.
The Philippines became the first country to integrate Cha-Ching in the grade school curriculum following the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement with DepEd in April 2012 for the integration of the Cha-Ching in the grade 2 curriculum.
Now on its fifth year in the country, Cha-Ching piloted in Upper Bicutan Elementary School in the National Capital Region and Tagaytay Central School in the Southern Tagalog Region for academic year 2012-2013 through DepEd’s Adopt-A-School program.
“Financial literacy is a critical life skill relevant to everyone, yet it is a subject most often absent in many educational systems globally,” said Prudence Foundation Executive Director Marc Fancy. “Prudence Foundation — in line with its three thematic pillars of children, education, and disaster preparedness and recovery — helps address this gap through Cha-Ching.”
DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones commended Pru Life UK for its continuous collaboration with the department and its long-term commitment to inculcate a culture of financial literacy among today’s youth through Cha-Ching. “This multi-platform financial education program is crucial in teaching key money management concepts to teachers and learners alike, and is concurrent with DepEd’s various initiatives on the subject including the integration of financial education and consumer protection in the K to 12 curriculum,” she said.
