Calls for more financial education in schools

With more an more UK consumers dealing with debt management at an early age, calls have been made to see schools around the country focus more on financial education.

Alastair Mathews, director of policy for the Personal Finance Education Group, insists that young people are aware of the implications of poor financial management, but often lack the skills needed to avoid debt disaster.

Schools around the country are guilty of approaching financial issues in a purely academic way that does not address how debt management can play an important part of adult life, Mr Mathews suggests.

“There’s no doubt that young people now recognise that they’re going to be incurring considerable financial expenditure in the years immediately after they turn 18,” he said.

“Young people are serious and responsible about money anyway, I think they often just lack the knowledge and skills they need to make the best use of it.”

A survey conducted by NatWest and UCAS recently showed that when students leave university they are already laden with an average of more than £12,000 worth of debts.