First salary. First credit card. First investment. For many young people, these milestones arrive before anyone has taught them how to navigate the financial decisions that come with them.
Financial literacy is often treated as a specialised subject. It should not be. Knowing how to budget, borrow, save, invest and manage risk is a basic life skill — one that can shape financial well-being long after graduation.
Oman is already recognising the importance of this issue. The Financial Services Authority has introduced initiatives aimed at developing financial knowledge among young people, while the Central Bank of Oman has undertaken national work examining financial literacy and financial behaviour. These efforts reflect a wider question: how can we prepare young Omanis not only for employment, but also for the financial responsibilities that come with it?
I saw this firsthand during an internship at the FSA, where I saw how seriously financial education for young people is taken at a national level. That experience shaped how I think about extending the same energy into university life, where students are about to put those lessons into practice.
Universities are in a particularly strong position to help. Students are approaching their first full-time salaries, independent financial commitments and, for some, the launch of a business. Financial education does not necessarily need to become another heavily assessed course. Practical workshops on budgeting, borrowing, saving and investing could give students skills they can immediately apply. A student investment club, a short session on reading a payslip, or a simple simulation where students manage a mock monthly budget would build more real financial confidence than an additional exam ever could.
The connection with entrepreneurship is equally important. A promising business idea is only the beginning. Understanding cash flow, costs, pricing, financing and profitability can determine whether that idea develops into a sustainable business. In a country actively encouraging small business ownership as part of its economic diversification, this understanding cannot remain optional — passion and a good idea are rarely enough to carry a business through its first difficult year without financial planning behind them.
Technology makes financial awareness even more urgent. Banking, payments and investment services are increasingly available through a smartphone. Convenience is valuable, but convenience without understanding can create risks. When a financial decision takes seconds to make, the ability to pause and understand its consequences matters more than ever.
Financial literacy should also extend beyond Finance and Accounting students. An engineer will earn and spend. A teacher may borrow or invest. A designer may build a business. Financial decisions are part of everyone's life, regardless of their degree.
As a Finance and Accounting student, I see financial literacy as more than knowledge of numbers. It is knowledge that gives people greater control over their choices. The goal is not to turn every young person into an investor or financial expert. It is to give them enough confidence to ask the right questions before making decisions that may affect years of their lives.
Oman's economic future will be shaped by national strategies, institutions and investment, but also by the everyday financial choices of its people. Building a financially aware generation is therefore more than an educational objective; it is an investment in resilience, responsible entrepreneurship and long-term economic participation.
Young Omanis do not need to know everything about money before they leave university. But they should know enough to understand where their money is going, what their choices cost, what risks they are taking, and how today's decisions may shape tomorrow. That is where financial literacy becomes more than a subject — it becomes a form of independence.
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