Vast majority of Cypriot students financially illiterate  

Only six per cent of a sample of 880 Cypriot students were able to respond successfully to a questionnaire put to them as part of a study on financial literacy carried out by the Technological University Tepak, it was announced on Wednesday.

The study concluded that financial illiteracy was a problem among students in Cyprus who enter the university without having sufficient education on the subject.

Students were asked to respond to six questions on basic concepts relating to the calculation of interest plus capital and compound interest, inflation and its effects, the relation between risk and yield, as well as diversification of risk.

The study found that only six per cent of the 880 were able to answer all the questions correctly.

Tepak rector Andreas Anayiotos said this significant generation of active citizens appeared to be financially illiterate with negative consequences for the viable development of society and the financial sector.

Anayiotos stressed the need for financial literacy and the importance of drafting a national strategy to tackle the phenomenon.

Co-op bank chief Nicolas Hadjiyiannis voiced hope that such studies would protect people and help people to make better decisions in the future.

 

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