KUWAIT: As part of its continued commitment to launching learning development initiatives and enhancing its partnerships with the educational institutions, National Bank of Kuwait organized open dialogue sessions that ran for three days, from November 24 to 26, joining together the principals of the government and private schools participating in Bankee program at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.
Bankee is the largest financial literacy program for elementary schools in Kuwait, offered by NBK in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the Anti-Corruption Authority “Nazaha”, with the aim of introducing the learners to basic economic concepts such as earning, spending, saving and financial obligations. The program also focuses on instilling core values such as honesty, integrity, responsibility, and teamwork to raise the learners’ awareness about the importance of financial independence and sustainable development.
Constructive discussions
The goal of the dialogue sessions was to exchange experiences and opinions among school principals, and to discuss ways to develop the program and enhance its implementation in schools to maximize the benefit for both learners and teachers. The meeting also provided the new participating schools with an opportunity to listen to former experiences and learn about best practices in implementing the program within classrooms.
During the sessions, the experiences of school principals with the program were highlighted, as well as its positive impact on the learners’ behavior and financial literacy. The participants expressed their appreciation for the efforts of NBK in supporting education, further praising the pivotal role the program plays in instilling positive values and developing financial skills among learners.
Moreover, the school principals confirmed that the program contributed to improving the learners’ behavior and developing their financial awareness, and it was very well received by parents who noticed positive changes in their children’s financial behaviors. The importance of continuing these meetings was also emphasized to enhance the collaboration between the bank and the schools and to develop the program in line with the needs of the educational environment.
Additionally, many of the teachers participating in the program expressed their great appreciation for its content and interactive style, noting that it contributed to improving the learners’ behavior and significantly enhanced their financial awareness, in addition to instilling educational values such as honesty, discipline and responsibility.
Tangible impact
On this occasion, Manal Al-Mattar, EVP – Head of Group Corporate Communications at National Bank of Kuwait commented: “Since its launch, Bankee achieved remarkable success and rapid growth with many public and private schools participating for many academic years with around 100 schools participating this year and 10,000 teachers.”
She added: “Moreover, Bankee contributed to making a clear impact on more than 50,000 learners, which enhances saving and financial responsibility skills at an early age. The program contributed to raising the level of financial awareness among thousands of primary school learners, through an interactive educational environment that simulates the real economic system”.
Furthermore, Al-Mattar noted: “The field visits conducted by the school administrations and parents showed that the program directly contributed to improving student behavior and developing their skills in managing their financial dealings. The program also witnessed a growing interest from new schools to join, which reflects an increased trust in its effectiveness and positive impact on the educational environment”.
Finally, Al-Mattar emphasized that NBK’s executive management is committed to closely monitoring the implementation of the program through field visits to public and private schools throughout the year, noting that these visits witnessed great interaction from parents who expressed their happiness with the positive changes in their children, whether in terms of behavior or financial literacy.
Continuous development
Sumaya Al-Jassim, CEO of Creative Confidence, which is the company running the program inside the schools, commented: “This year’s version of the program witnessed a complete and comprehensive revamp aimed at enhancing the learning experience.”
Al-Jassim also noted that new features have been added to the digital platform, in addition to increasing the financial literacy content and adding more in-class interactive activities. Moreover, this year’s edition of the program considered the suggestions made by teachers and learners last year.
Finally, Al-Jassim stressed that these improvements come in line with the company’s commitment to collaborating with NBK to provide an advanced and effective learning experience that meet the teachers and learners’ expectations.
It is worth noting that NBK firmly believes in the importance of private sector initiatives in collaboration with government entities to provide future generations with the knowledge and skills that enable them to build a prosperous future. NBK will continue to support education, as it’s one of the pillars of its corporate social responsibility strategy that deems investing in people as the most important form of investment to achieve sustainable development.
