Background

The School Adoption Program (SAP) was introduced in 1997 by Ministry of Education (MOE) in collaboration with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). Initially, SAP was focusing on savings but beginning the year 1998, the focus shifted to smart money management and in 2001 it moved on to financial education.

Objective

The objective of SAP is to develop and conduct a holistic financial education program for both primary and secondary school children with a long-term objective of nurturing young Malaysians to be financially savvy.

Financial Insititutions (FIs) Participation

FIs participation in SAP is through the Adoption Program of the schools allocated by BNM. The number of schools given to each FI is generally determined by the branch network of the respective FIs. This is to ensure that a wider number of schools are covered thus allowing for better participation.

Initial Activities Organized by BNM

To kick start the program, BNM initiated the following:-

a. Production of “Buku Wang Saku”

Buku Wang Saku was introduced in 1998 and as at todate 6.7 million copies have been distributed to primary and secondary schools. This is a tool to educate and assist students to manage their pocket money and to take control of their finances. The book contains articles, exercises and games related to money and finance.

b. Kelab Kewangan Pelajar Sekolah (KKPS)

KKPS was introduced in 1999 by MOE and up todate, 2,000 clubs have been established. Participating FIs are given certain number of schools to adopt and they are required to use the club to conduct activities in the respective school.

c. Financial Education Website - duitsaku.com

This website was launched on 19 October 2004 by MOE and BNM. It is an interactive financial education portal aimed to enhance financial literacy among students. As at todate, duitsaku.com has a membership of 85,389 students. The website is continuously enhanced to include new features and also a BM version.

d. Production of Lesson Plans for KKPS (Collaboration with FIs)

In the effort to supervise and standardize activities organized at the club level, BNM together with MOE and SAP Working Group Committee have developed a comprehensive lesson plans that are used by the teachers to organize activities during the club meetings.

e. Production of comic book on E-payment (Collaboration with FIs)

In line with the Government’s focus on promoting the use of e-payment, BNM and SAP Working Group Committee have decided to publish a comic book for both primary and secondary school children.

The comic book is expected to be completed by middle of 2009.

SAP Working Group Committee

In the effort to have better coordination between BNM and the industry, a SAP Working Group Committee was formed. The members are representatives from the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM), Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM), Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) and Association of Development Finance Institutions of Malaysia (ADFIM). Details of SAP Working Group Committee is attached in Appendix I.

The roles of SAP Working Group are as follows:-

• Represent Industry at discussion with BNM and Education Committee.
• Give advice and provide assistance to other FIs on SAP matters.
• Collaborate with BNM in developing SAP materials and conducting activities.
• Participate in seminars/workshops organized by BNM and Education Committee.
• Discuss and address issues to FIs’ participation in SAP with BNM.

The Committee meets on quarterly basis to discuss issues pertaining to the program. However, ad-hoc meetings will be called if the need arises.

Uni.Asia Life's Involvement

We started participating in the SAP in 2007 and following are the schools that we have adopted:

• Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (Perempuan) Methodist, Kuala Lumpur
• Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Bandaraya, Bangsar
• Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (C) Chi Man, Sentul
• Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Pantai Sepang Putra, Sungai Pelek, Sepang
• Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Gedangsa, Kuala Kubu Bharu
• Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Sri Dhandayutapani, Kuala Lumpur
• Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (T) Thamboosamy Pillai, Sentul
• Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (C) Lai Chee, Kuala Lumpur