CBSE finance test draws blank

Hyderabad: The Central Board of Secondary Education is all set to conduct its first National Financial Literacy Test on January 12, 2014 across the country, but there are no takers for it in the city.

Many CBSE schools in the city are not even aware of the test. As the test is ‘optional’ students too have given it the go by.

The test is meant for students from Class VIII to X, and aims to assess financial literacy and basic knowledge about stock markets, banking etc. It is a bilingual (Hindi and English) test, comprising 75 questions.

The CBSE is collaborating with the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM), Mumbai to conduct the exam. It is part of a CBSE?plan to train students in skills like communication, leadership and management. “It is important to educate kids in economics. Fiscal knowledge plays an important role in our lives. This test would help children understand economics better," said Vineet Joshi, the CBSE chairman.

NISM is the nodal agency for implementation of the National Centre for Financial Education (NCFE) scheme in association with the CBSE. NCFE is a joint initiative of India's financial regulators like the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), SEBI and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority. (IRDA), Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and Forward Markets Commission (FMC).