Welcome to the Reserve Bank of Fiji’s Public Awareness column. Over the next few weeks we will cover a series of articles on financial education in Fiji and how it contributes to financial inclusion.
In an affluent urban school like Yat Sen Secondary School, students Tegumailagi Toganivalu and Ca Kie Zhong are the exception, not the rule. Many of their peers come from families with businesses and are given substantial amounts of pocket money. Not so for these two.
Tegu and Ca Kie have been helping out at home and doing little odd jobs in their spare time to earn spending money, and are managing to save a fair chunk of it. Tegu, a year 10 student, has been banking $1000 every six months from babysitting, baking and tutoring. Ca Kie, a Year 11 student, has managed to save $300 from the money she earns through her family’s vegetable garden.
But this wasn’t always the case. Since 2013, an Australian government funded Financial Education (FinEd) programme in Fiji schools has been empowering students like Tegu and Ca Kie to become more financially competent.