Romania at the bottom of EU rankings for financial education

Romania continues to be at the bottom of the European Union in terms of financial education, even though companies in the sector are continually investing in programs to teach people how to manage their money.

For teachers, for example, a new online platform with learning resources was launched on Tuesday for them to use in the classroom during lessons.

Educational games, worksheets and simulations of financial transactions can be accessed from Tuesday by teachers across the country, regardless of the subject they teach, through the online platform life-lab.ro.

Andreea Ilie, economics teacher: We talked about the financial products on the market, what financial products students use and found out that they already know a lot of information. They save some of the money they get, they want to buy certain gadgets. Some were even saving money for driving school, others were saving money for the university they want to go to.

The latest report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development shows Romania ranks last in Europe in financial education.

-: I'm in grade 11 at the Technology High-School Professor Ilie Gavrila in Ciorani. I have recently started to save my money and for five months now I have my own income, because I now have a very well established budget, I know what I spend my money on. I am very careful with my spending. Thanks to my savings I paid for my driving school.

-: I use a savings account, and also an investment account.

Translated by: Radu Matei