Page 38 - MiNDSPACE Issue 1 2022 - Old Mutual Corporate

education expertSPACE
As the team – led by Tabby Tsengiwe,
Old Mutual General Manager: Marketing & Public Affairs, and John Manyike, the group’s Head of Financial Education – began thinking of how the programme could work in practice, a clear way forward emerged. ‘After speaking to the likes of Microsoft, MTN, Vodacom, UNICEF and various NGOs, it became clear that many organisations were already doing good work, particularly in the digital space. It also seemed like those who had tried to launch big digital platforms had failed, mainly because they tended to be supply-led instead of demand-led,’ Taylor says.
‘To undertake an initiative of this kind online only, is fundamentally flawed because the digital divide is too massive,’ Taylor explains. ‘We settled on
a strategy that would deliver digital and non- digital financial education through a multiformat, multilingual and multiplatform approach. The refined content-led strategy is about getting out there and supporting the recovery work facing countries in Africa in terms of education.’
‘South Africa’s Department of Basic Education (DBE) is very engaged and supportive,’ says Taylor. ‘We’re not trying to set up financial education as yet another subject in an already overcrowded curriculum. Financial-education concepts appear in many subjects – including mathematics, maths literacy, business studies, economic management science, accounting and so on – and our mainstreaming approach allows us to weave it into the existing curriculum.’
The focus, for now, is on Grade 12 learners. This is a deliberate move, given how vulnerable that cohort is to the disruptions of the pandemic.
MAINSTREAMING FINANCIAL EDUCATION
‘The Covid-19 crisis is not only a crisis for 2020 and 2021,’ Taylor points out. ‘It is having a considerable impact on Grade 11 and Grade 10 learners too, and it will take at least three years for the system to recover. While our focus is on Grade 12 and those retaking Grade 12 for now, our content is also applicable from Grade 10 and up.’
Although Old Mutual piloted Learn.Think.Do in South Africa and Kenya, the programme will ultimately roll out across the group’s territories, with Namibia, Zimbabwe, Ghana and Uganda next on the list. In all countries, the team works very closely with the education ministries to ensure high levels of curriculum alignment, adoption and impact.
The initiative gives learners and teachers
free access to a full digital and print library in different formats and languages. It is supported by TV and radio, and local stations provide free- to-air coverage to reach as large an audience as possible.
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COVID-19’S IMPACT ON OLD MODELS OF CLASSROOM LEARNING
The focus on schools and school-aged learners is intentional. On one level, financial education has a core foundational component and on another level, better financial literacy brings greater financial inclusion. ‘Although we invest
SHARED VALUE IN ACTION
In line with the DBE’s policy to promote African languages, the content is available in the 11 official languages in South Africa as well as Braille. In addition, every piece of animation has a sign language insert.
This strategy is paying off. ‘We’re seeing growing levels of interaction with the vernacular languages, and we know from educational research and evidence that learning in one’s home language increases the chances
of learning and retaining core concepts considerably,’ says Taylor.
in education through various programmes,
Old Mutual is not expert in all areas of education.
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34 | ISSUE 1 2022