Another 82 high schools in Ho Chi Minh City will offer financialeducation classes as part of a soft-skills training programme for theupcoming academic year, according to the city’s Department of Educationand Training.

The classes are part of the department’s Smart Starproject, carried out with the cooperation of Save the ChildrenInternational and under the sponsorship of the Citi Foundation.

Financialeducation classes were first offered in four high schools in the2009-10 academic year, and then 82 chosen to offer the classes.

Forthe upcoming school year, 10 th graders at all of the 182 high schoolsin the city will take six 45-minute classes in financial education.

Nguyen Hoai Chuong, the department’s deputy head, said the classes are important in teaching money management skills.

He said that many students live away from home or study abroad, andthey need to know how to spend properly and plan for their future.

Many students who have taken the classes have opened saving accounts, according to the Vietnam-based Save the Children.

According to a survey of 5.196 students at 82 high schools thatcurrently hold such classes, 56 percent of them said they made monthlyexpenditure lists.

The survey showed that 22.8 percent of them hadsaved 10 percent of their monthly allowances from parents over a threemonth period.

More than 17 percent of them saved 10-20 percent oftheir monthly allowances, and 17.2 percent spent only half of theirallowances.

Of the students surveyed, 60 percent said that they would use savings accounts and ATMs.

At least 95 percent of 614 students in seven high schools saw thenecessity of such skills, according to a survey conducted by Save theChildren International. Of those students, 57.2 percent felt confidentabout their money management.-VNA