A Working Agreement on financial education has been stipulated by five Romanian institutions in order to enhance the development of financial education. Primary education, lower and upper secondary education, higher and adult education will be targeted.

The five signatories' institutions, namely the Ministry of National Education, the National Bank of Romania, the Ministry of Public Finances, the Financial Supervisory Authority and the Romanian Association of Banks will carry out joint actions to develop a National Financial Education Strategy (NFES). They will start from the drafting of a ‘White Paper’ which consist of a list of actors engaged in financial education activities and a national study on the current level of knowledge in financial education.

To pursue this process, some recommended actions have also been established. For example, in primary education it is recommended to include the optional subject “Financial Education” in school curricula and support its teaching. At lower secondary and upper secondary level, teachers who will teach the subject “Economic and Financial Education” for grade 8 will be provided with training support on specific financial education topics.

At university level, an information campaign on financial field will be run in partner universities. It will be jointed with presentations and projects addressed respectively to higher education students and teachers. In Adult education, different target groups will be addressed through the distribution of information materials (DVDs, books, leaflets, brochures, etc.), and they will be informed on organised events through a common online platform.

The coordination of the whole process will be ensured by a Financial Education Committee, which will be composed of representatives of the partner institutions. The Working Agreement will be in effect for 5 years, with a possibility to be extended based on the parteners' decision.

Source: Romanian Eurydice Unit