THE Department of Education (DepEd) announced last June 23 it has partnered with the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) to launch a financial literacy program targeting teachers and students in Senior High School.
The program, titled “DiskarTech-Aralin sa Madiskarteng Pananalapi,” (lessons in strategic finance), was launched last May 26, 2022, at the Rizal High School in Caniogan, Pasig City, the DepEd said.
According to the agency, the program is in support of DepEd Order 22 (series 2021) titled “Financial Education Policy and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) National Strategy for Financial Inclusion.” This, the DepEd said aligned with its programs to include financial lessons in the K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum.
“Financial literacy is very important not just for our teachers, but to the learners as well. We all have crucial financial decisions that can result in important consequences in our lives,” Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones was quoted in a statement as saying. “As our children grow along with their responsibilities, they should possess the knowledge to make sound financial decisions.”
Digitalized concepts
THE DepEd said the program launch is in support of RCBC’s own “DiskarTech” program and a neighborhood handheld ATM device, which allows withdrawals from all ATM/prepaid/debit cards.
The DepEd said the lender’s program digitalizes the concepts of “alkansya” (piggy bank), “paluwagan” (loans), “seguro” (insurance) and “bayad” (payments). It aims to promote financial stewardship practices with the teachers and parents by allowing the learners to experience building financial education milestones through the program.
“Whatever you do, whatever you want to study just make sure that your digital skills are developed. You can become a digital lawyer, a digital doctor, you can become anything. One of the best things to prepare for that is through this mobile app,” RCBC President and CEO Eugene Acevedo said through the statement.
The DepEd said it and RCBC also turned over of a coffee table book and other classroom materials to external partnership focal persons from various division offices of DepEd National Capital Region and Region IV-A.
“With partnership programs like the DiskarTech of RCBC, we expect that these programs will provide Filipinos with relevant, responsive, and inclusive digital financial services,” Undersecretary for External Partnerships Tonisito MC. Umali said. “This would also let us experience how the technology works in securing our finances and save for the most important and unanticipated events in our lives.”