Simon Jenkins: Financial literacy needed, but not more maths for all
The Story
A Guardian opinion piece by Simon Jenkins argues that former prime minister Rishi Sunak is correct that students need financial literacy, but disagrees with Sunak’s focus on requiring mathematics until age 18. Jenkins proposes three core pillars for education: health and social media awareness, community and citizenship, and handling money and work.
Key Facts
- The article states that former prime minister Rishi Sunak complains pupils are never taught “financial literacy” and believes this requires mathematics taught to the age of 18.
- Jenkins writes that for the vast majority of people, numeracy begins and ends with arithmetic, not algebra, calculus or quadratic equations.
- The piece mentions that Alan Milburn is “shocked that a million young people aged 16-24 are not in education, training or a job – one in seven of them with degrees: a rate double that in Ireland and three times that in the Netherlands.”
- Jenkins argues that financial education should be compulsory and core, not “extracurricular,” and proposes three pillars: how to look after bodies and minds and handle social media; how to behave as community members, vote and obey the law; and how to handle money and work (incomes, taxes, insurance, pensions).
- The article notes that the Starmer government’s “fiscal and regulatory barriers to startup and temporary jobs have clearly not helped” the situation for school leavers.
Conflicting Reports
No conflicting reports identified in the source article.
Still Unclear
No open questions identified in the source article.
Misconceptions
No widespread misconceptions addressed in the source article.
Key Figures
- Simon Jenkins: Guardian columnist and author of the piece
- Rishi Sunak: former prime minister
- Alan Milburn: former colleague of Tony Blair
- Keir Starmer: prime minister and successor to Tony Blair
Sources: The Guardian
