Villar pushes entrepreneurship as part of school curriculum

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Cynthia Villar today emphasized yesterday that the passage of the bill that will make entrepreneurship part of the school curriculum will motivate students to become entrepreneurs early on in their lives.

“We need a new generation of entrepreneurs. And we need to start them young, as the cliché goes. Thus, incorporating entrepreneurship in the school curriculum is the most logical thing to do,” Villar said.

Senate Bill 2212 under Committee Report No. 26 was sponsored by Sen. Bam Aquino before the adjournment of the First Regular Session of the 16th Congress. The bill introduces and integrates in the curriculum of primary, secondary, alternative learning and post- secondary education subjects and competencies in entrepreneurship and financial literacy.

Senate Bill 147, one of the first bills filed by Villar at the start of her term as senator in July 2013, is the first Senate bill seeking to integrate entrepreneurship in the high school curriculum.

“We have been promoting entrepreneurship as a way out of poverty because it generates employment. And unemployment is a major problem in our country. When we get the chance to talk to the youth, students, and new graduates, we urge them to aspire to merely landing a good job or getting employed. Anyone can be an employer or a creator of jobs,” Villar said in co-sponsoring the bill.

“While I have misgivings in introducing entrepreneurship to elementary or grade school students as they may not be able to grasp the concepts yet, I believe we can start with value formation with them. It is important for them to learn values — besides theories and strategies, that will make them good entrepreneurs in the future,” she added.

Villar said the values of saving money and hard work should be taught in school to prepare the students to become entrepreneurs.

The lady senator said the new generation of entrepreneurs will pave the way for the creation of more micro, small and medium enterprises or MSMEs — a strong engine of growth in our country.

Villar also encourage people venturing into business not to lose heart when they lack the capital.