Prudential Continues to Champion Money-Smart Values in Classrooms with Cha-Ching Curriculum

KUALA LUMPUR, 5 March 2018 – Today, 350 teachers and educators from 157 schools in five states from across the country attended Malaysia’s first Cha-Ching Educators Conference organised by Prudence Foundation to enhance their knowledge on money management, and discuss and exchange best practices on financial literacy education, specifically the Cha-Ching Curriculum.

Launched in 2011, Cha-Ching is an initiative of the Prudence Foundation, the community investment arm of Prudential Corporation Asia. It is an award winning financial education programme that provides a 360 degree platform to help instill money-smart skills in children aged between 7–12 year olds. Cha-Ching was adapted to on-ground financial education programmes in Malaysia which saw the insurer’s local business unit, Prudential Assurance Malaysia Berhad (Prudential) running them in schools and local communities.

Building on the success of Cha-Ching, Prudence Foundation developed the Cha-Ching Curriculum in 2014 in partnership with Junior Achievement (JA) Asia Pacific, one of the largest global non-governmental organisations (NGOs) dedicated to youth education and development, to equip teachers with the knowledge and tools so that they can provide children a good understanding of basic money management concepts.

Cha-Ching Curriculum is a structured programme that consists of six 45-minute modular sessions for students in primary two to six. Each session is taught through active, fun and hands-on learning that allows students to put into practice the knowledge acquired. The Curriculum was piloted to 10 schools in 2016 in Malaysia and it was officially implemented in schools across five states in Malaysia in 2017 by JA Malaysia and Yayasan Generasi Gemilang.

Since its implementation in 2016, the Cha-Ching Curriculum has successfully reached out to approximately 17,605 students in 163 schools across five states. In 2018, the Cha-Ching Curriculum will see its expansion into Sarawak, reaching a total of 30,000 students in 6 states by the end of the year.

Prudential’s initiatives complement the Ministry of Education’s long-term effort in promoting financial literacy and inculcating the right values in our children in order to create a young generation of financially literate and responsible citizens.

Present at the conference was guest of honor YB Dato' P. Kamalanathan A/L P. Panchanathan, Deputy Minister of Education 1 who welcomed Prudence Foundation’s on-going initiatives in supporting the Malaysian government’s efforts to inculcate better financial knowledge in Malaysia’s youth. He said, “The Malaysian Education Philosophy believes in developing students in a holistic and integrated manner. Financial literacy is a critical life skill that impacts a person’s ability to lead a sustainable lifestyle and contribute towards the country’s long-term development. The work of Prudence Foundation and Prudential in promoting financial literacy is an exemplary example of the long-term benefits public-private partnership can bring to society”.

Donald Kanak, Chairman of Prudence Foundation highlighted during the conference, “Prudence Foundation, as part of Prudential, is committed to securing better futures for more lives and bringing meaningful change in our communities. We are very grateful to have many strategic partners who share the same vision as us. We are honoured to work closely with the Ministry of Education in Malaysia to bring the Cha-Ching Curriculum to as many children as possible and to coach our next generation to be financially responsible and empowered adults”.

Vivian Lau, President of JA Asia Pacific added “As a collaboration between Prudence Foundation and JA Asia Pacific, the Cha-Ching programme combines Cha-Ching’s well-established and award-winning content with JA’s expertise in youth development to develop the best in class financial literacy curriculum catered for primary school students”.