Pension Alliance Limited (PAL) has taken its financial literacy Campaign to more schools in Lagos and other parts of the country, having successfully completed phase one of the projects which kicked off on Children’s Day.
According to the company, the second phase took place at Baptist Academy, Obanikoro, Lagos, Holy Cross Catholic Primary School, Lagos Island and thirty-nine other schools across the country, on Thursday 30 October 2014 and was attended by pupils and staff of these schools, as well as representatives from PAL, the organizers.
Being a financial institution, the company believes that inculcating the tenets of good financial management into the young generation at an early stage of life would build in them the savings culture that seem to be a problem in this present generation. Thus, the company takes its experts to primary and secondary schools in Nigeria to give them practical financial and economic information on how to get and use money prudently.
While briefing the press at the event, Godwin Onoro, PAL’s Executive Director Finance and Operations, expressed satisfaction at the turnout and positive feedbacks the campaign has received so far. He expatiated on financial literacy as one of the most crucial things that young people need to learn and understand.
“Because the organization is a financial institution, it understands the importance of saving culture, planning and its overall effect on other aspects of life. We encourage them by giving those in primary school piggy banks, which everybody knows as ‘kolo’. We open their minds to using their piggy banks to save now, and later open an account with the savings with a view to sustaining the saving culture eventually”.
He added that they are taught the importance of planning for money and investing.
Reacting to why the campaign targeted children in primary and secondary schools since everybody needs to be educated on their finances, he argued that the company is starting from the root and foundation, which is the school. He however disclosed that the company has plans to expand the campaign to other people like artisans, market women and road operators like ‘okada’ and ‘danfo’ drivers in the future.
Onoro who led the team to Baptist Academy, also spoke of the big part of the campaign, known as ‘Shadow training,’ where some bright and intelligent students who get answers rightly to quiz questions will be selected from all participating schools. According to him, they would be taken to the PAL’s head office and made to go through some practical working processes, which includes spending time in the managing director’s office, like a managing director. However, at the end of the trainings they would become the company’s ambassadors who train other children on things they have learnt.
Rev. Mrs. B.A Ladoba, the Principal at Baptist Academy, said the training is a reminder for the students and staff of the school on what they had earlier learnt about their finances adding that for aschool that has existed for over fifteen decades, it has received various trainings from different organizations on Financial Matters.
