The Reserve Bank of Fiji launched the sixth edition of its Student Diary at the Namosi Secondary School today. The Governor of the Reserve Bank, Mr Barry Whiteside said that a total of 4,000 copies were printed which will be distributed to 26 secondary schools around Fiji, mostly those in the rural and maritime areas. This is an initiative by the Reserve Bank to complement financial education and promote financial literacy awareness in our community.

Governor Whiteside said the Theme for this year’s Diary is, “Money Talks, I should Bank or Invest”. In last year’s edition, the focus was on the importance of Investing and its benefits, while in this year’s edition we highlight the different things that students can do with their money. In this time and age it is very important for students to manage their money wisely. Financial security is and will always remain one of the most critical things in students’ lives and they need to learn and understand how to achieve it.

The Diary offers encouragement to students, and it broadens their financial skills in planning, budgeting, spending, managing money as well as investment and saving tips. The Reserve Bank is of the view that instilling good money management skills at a young age will help our children in the future. The inclusion of real life stories is also one of the highlights of this year’s edition.

Fiji is one of the first countries in the Pacific, which has integrated financial education into the formal school curriculum at all levels. In 2013, the Ministry of Education introduced financial education as part of the formal school curriculum and it is now taught in all schools from year 1 to year 12.