A LinkedIn post about a school teaching financial literacy to first graders has gone viral. The Bengaluru-based CEO recently shared the post expressing amazement after seeing a book featuring lessons on UPI, BHIM, and savings in his 6-year-old son's school bag.
“I was shocked to see what they're teaching my 6-year-old son in school,” Bengaluru CEO and founder of a fintech firm, Kunal Kabra, wrote on LinkedIn. He explained that the book for Class 1 is titled "My Paiso: Money Mindfulness."
Kabra continued, “The book has sections on UPI, BHIM, savings, and responsible spending. There are icons of digital payment systems on the cover that half the adults in my family still don't fully understand,” adding, “I've spent my career in finance. I was the unofficial financial helpline for everyone around me. And every single time, my first thought was the same: why does nobody teach this stuff?”
He weighed in on learning about things that he never had a chance to use in real life. The founder also pointed out that financial literacy would have been more helpful.
{{/usCountry}}He weighed in on learning about things that he never had a chance to use in real life. The founder also pointed out that financial literacy would have been more helpful.
{{/usCountry}}“We learn trigonometry in school. We learn the periodic table. We memorise dates of battles fought centuries ago. But nobody teaches us how our salary slip works. Nobody explains what TDS is. Nobody tells us that our PF can get stuck for years because of a name mismatch we didn't know existed.” He shared how he learned about money by making mistakes, like many others.
What did the CEO feel after seeing the book?
“So when my son casually dropped this book on the kitchen table like it was just another subject, I honestly sat there staring at it for a while. This is India catching up with something that should have existed decades ago. A generation that will grow up knowing what a UPI ID is before they know what a cheque is,” Kabra explained.
He said how with this new step, the kids would now understand “saving, spending, and financial responsibility as basic life skills, not something they panic-learn at 25 when they get their first salary.”
“The fact that this starts in Class 1 gives me genuine hope. Because the adults they become will approach money with clarity. That's all I've ever wanted from my work in finance. To make it understood,” he explained, sharing his happiness.
The post prompted a series of responses on social media. While one person shared a clapping hands emoticon, another commented, “At last.” An individual also asked about the school’s name.