By Ngozi Onyeakusi — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has restated its commitment to further educate and enlighten investors in the Nigerian capital market to enhance their ability to make informed investment decisions.

The Acting Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Ms. Mary Uduk who stated this at the Planning and writing workshop for the development of Capital Market Studies Curriculum (CMSC) for Basic and Senior Secondary Schools levels held in Lagos, Monday, said the development of the curriculum is one of such avenues.

Uduk said that the Commission has been in the vanguard of inculcating financial literacy for quite a long time because the SEC has realised that it is very important for students to imbibe the culture and habit of being financial literate and to be familiar with the operations of the capital market.

According to her, “This partnership with the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), to actualize this ground breaking Capital Market literacy programme, is part of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s effort at vigorously pursuing the implementation of one of the essential initiatives of the 10-year Nigerian Capital Market Master Plan”.

Uduk said the implementation programme kick-started with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Commission and the NERDC in 2016, to develop a Standalone Capital Market Studies (CMS) curriculum for infusion into Basic and Senior Secondary Schools.

“I am happy to announce that, after a successful workshop for contents selection, the stage is now
set for the planning and writing of the standalone curriculum.

“The Commission recognizes the efforts required for other stages of the programme and remain
confident that with the active support and commitment of our stakeholders we will complete this project” she stated.

She said the Commission recognizes the efforts required for other stages of the programme and remain confident that with the active support and commitment of all stakeholders the project will be completed.

In his welcome address, Executive Secretary National Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) Prof Ismail Junaidu said the capital market connects the financial sector with the real sector of the economy and in the process, facilitates real sector growth and economic development adding that it increases the proportion of long term savings that are channeled to long term individuals/households and channels them into long term investments and fulfils the transfer of current purchasing power from surplus sectors of the economy to deficit sections.

He said a nation’s economic growth is expected to promote an efficient and effective financial sector that pools domestic savings and mobilises capital for productive purposes. Hence he said, an economy that is not growing can hinder stock market development, and engender such problems as low capitalisation, which limits the savings function of the stock market; and illiquidity of the market which is a disincentive to investment.

Junaidu described capital market education as a strategic imperative which requires a comprehensive curriculum run by competent academic and professional personnel adding that early involvement of the youth in Capital Market Studies could derive profit, growth and perhaps be the much sought antidote to over dependence on paid employments was one of the reasons the SEC approached NERDC to mainstream capital market issues into the national curriculum.

He therefore expressed gratitude to the SEC Management on their commitment to the execution of the project.

The 10 year Capital Market Master Plan requires the SEC to inculcate the culture of financial literacy and specifically to introduce Capital Market Studies (CMS) into curriculum at all levels of education and to encourage CMS as a degree programme in the tertiary institutions.