growing up in a society obsessed with celebrities and need to be taught to live
within their
means, an education minister has warned.
In an attack on
contemporary values, Nick Gibb, the UK’s Minister
for Schools, argued that a “got to have it now” culture was breeding
unrealistic expectations of wealth in young people.
Speaking in a House
of Commons debate on whether children needed a better financial education, Mr
Gibbs said that millions of children were being raised with the wrong priorities
and equated wealth with success.
“Young people are
growing up in a materialistic world for which they are often not fully
prepared,” Mr Gibbs
said.
“The ‘got to have it
now’ culture means young people have high aspirations for branded or designer
goods, often without the means to pay for them. People have unrealistic
expectations about the lifestyle they can afford, fuelled by the glittering
trappings of celebrities.
“We all have a job to
do in moving young people’s aspirations away from this empty and often
destructive perception of what success means,” he added.
“Developing
children’s intellectual capabilities and interests is a direct antidote to
materialism.
“Alongside that,
young people must acquire a sense of responsibility. They need to contribute to
society as responsible citizens and not take wild risks. They need to learn to
live within their means.”
According
to The Daily Telegraph, the Commons debate was
tabled after more than 100,000 members of the public signed an online petition
calling for schools to give lessons in personal finance. The campaign was backed
by Martin Lewis, who runs the website
MoneySavingExpert.com.
It was brought to
Parliament by Justin Tomlinson, a Tory MP, who argued that people were making
poor financial decisions “not necessarily through their own fault but because
they didn’t have the skills”.
He said some people
might have avoided crippling debt if they had been taught about interest rates
at school.
Mr Gibb stopped short
of backing compulsory financial education for all but pointed out that the
Government was reviewing the National Curriculum.
