In his first speech of 2023 last week, Rishi Sunak announced that he wishes to implement plans for all pupils to study maths until age 18.
Sunak’s Reasoning
Sunak is stressing the importance of numeracy as “our children’s jobs will require more analytical skills”.
He also said that he wants people to feel “more confident” when it comes to finances and mortgage deals. If this is the case, why not supply financial education instead?
Ambition without Substance
At this moment, Sunak’s plans seem entirely unattainable given that he’s failed to give any indication as to how they will be achieved.
- There are no new qualifications immediately planned and no plan to make A levels compulsory
- There is an enormous shortage of maths teachers. In 2021, there were under 36,000 maths teachers in English state secondary schools, compared to 39,000 English teachers and 45,000 science teachers. Sunak has not stated how he plans to magic up more maths teachers to carry out his plans
- Sunak has not said what his plans will mean for those studying humanities or creative arts qualifications
Currently, it seems like more of an empty aspiration than a concrete plan…
The Importance of Financial Education
Whilst financial education and mathematics have areas of overlap, the two should not be conflated… they are not the same thing.
If Sunak’s plans go ahead, we need to make sure that this studying of maths is something that can actually be applied to the real world. Whilst a strong grasp of maths can help with aspects of financial management, such as budgeting, it does not overlap with all financial needs.
For example, studying maths might help you understand how percentages work. However, a financial education carries this even further as you can start using these percentages in the ‘real world’, such as with taxes. Instead of simply understanding the percentages of each tax band, you can know what to do if you are taxed wrong, what the different tax codes are, how to fill out your own self-assessment tax returns, and so much more.
Sunak says he wants people to feel “more confident” in managing their finances and understanding things like mortgage deals. In that case, surely we should be providing a meaningful financial education to pupils instead? Understanding the numbers is not enough…
If you want to read more about the importance of a meaningful financial education, click here.