Latestarticle

 

Egypt will introduce financial literacy as a non-exam extracurricular subject for second-year secondary students, offering successful participants EGP 500 portfolios to trade on the Egyptian Exchange, Education Minister Mohammad Abdel Latif said.

The move is part of a broader push to shift toward hands-on learning, equipping students with practical economic and investment skills, and real-market experiences.

Abdel Latif said students who complete the program will receive coded accounts and funded portfolios enabling real trading activity, describing the initiative as “an unprecedented practical educational experience” within Egypt’s school system.

He said the program aims to move beyond teaching financial concepts in isolation by allowing students to participate in markets, make decisions, and bear responsibility for outcomes in a realistic financial environment.

“For years, education explained economic concepts and equations detached from real-world application,” the minister said, adding that global changes now require a model that links knowledge to application and turns students into active participants in the economy.

The ministry is also launching a national program integrating financial literacy, investment awareness, and entrepreneurship into the curricula for first- and second-year secondary students, Abdel-Latif said, stressing that it represents a modern education model rather than simply adding a new subject.

Students, he added, will gain exposure to concepts, such as value creation, risk management, and the long-term impact of economic decisions through direct engagement with financial markets.

The initiative is being implemented in partnership with Japan, drawing on educational approaches that emphasize discipline, precision, and long-term thinking, which the ministry aims to incorporate these approaches into Egypt’s education system.

Earlier cooperation with Japanese partners helped introduce programming and artificial intelligence to nearly one million first-year secondary students, with around 500,000 passing in the first semester, encouraging expansion into financial literacy and economic empowerment.

He said the initiative represents an investment in both students and Egypt’s economic future, aiming to prepare a generation capable of informed decision-making and active participation in an evolving economic landscape.

Financial literacy has become a global policy priority as governments seek to equip younger generations with the skills to navigate increasingly complex economic systems, rising living costs, and expanding digital financial services.

At its core, financial literacy refers to the ability to understand and apply concepts such as budgeting, saving, investing, debt management, and risk assessment.

Source: Al-Ahram Online