MANILA — The Department of Education said Thursday it would intensify the integration of financial education in the K-12 curriculum to improve financial literacy among Filipinos.

The department recently issued an order that aims to "enhance the financial literacy and financial capability of all learners, public school teachers, and DepEd personnel to make sound financial decisions."

Under the new policy, teachers, teachers-in-training, and non-teaching personnel will undergo competency-building activities through the National Educators Academy of the Philippines, Teacher Education Council, and DepEd's bureau of human resources.

The DepEd said the training will help its staff "hone their own financial management skills which is anchored on the objective of DepEd in producing [a] financially literate and debt free teaching and non-teaching force."

Students, meanwhile, will be taught "key financial concepts and skills on earning, saving, spending, budgeting, donating, investing, planning, consumer protection and entrepreneurship," the agency said.

"Learners will also be taught how to open a savings account and help manage their resources prudently, which helps them apply these concepts in real life," it added.

Jocelyn Andaya, director of the DepEd-Bureau of Curriculum Development, said the financial concepts would be integrated without changing existing learning competencies under the K-12 curriculum.

A 2019 survey by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed that only 41 percent of Filipino adults can correctly answer 1 of 3 financial literacy questions while only 8 percent can get all 3 questions right.

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