The Centre of Excellence in Financial Capability & Entrepreneurship is continuing to gain strong momentum across Malta, with the latest programme update showing significant growth in the number of participating schools, accredited educators, students reached, and schools progressing through accreditation. The figures reflect a clear shift: schools are increasingly recognising that financial capability and entrepreneurship are not standalone topics, but essential life skills that can and should be embedded across the wider educational experience.
In its first academic year, 2024/2025, the programme engaged 5 schools as a pilot project, 19 accredited educators, and reached 568 students, with 2 schools achieving accreditation. In the second academic year, 2025/2026, this grew to 8 schools, 44 accredited educators, and 2,867 students taught, with around 7 to 8 schools moving through accreditation. Across the two years combined, the Centre of Excellence has now reached 13 schools, 63 accredited educators, 3,435 students, and around 10 accredited schools.
One of the most encouraging developments is not only the steady increase in the number of schools joining the programme, but the deeper level of commitment being shown within schools themselves. While the programme encourages schools to send a minimum of three educators through the accredited training, more and more schools are going beyond that number. In several cases, five or more educators from the same school have completed the accreditation process, reflecting a growing understanding that financial capability is most effective when it is embedded across subjects, departments, and year groups rather than being left to one teacher or one isolated initiative.
This is particularly important because financial literacy is not a topic that sits separately from school life. Every decision we make has a financial element, whether directly or indirectly. That is why financial capability fits naturally into so many of the projects and priorities schools already have, from wellbeing and digital competence to entrepreneurship, citizenship, employability, and project-based learning. Rather than adding one more demand to a crowded school agenda, it can strengthen and connect the work schools are already doing.
The schools currently progressing through accreditation also reflect the growing breadth of the initiative. Participation includes State, Independent and Church schools, with major State colleges such as St Clare’s College, St Benedict’s College and St Thomas More College all working towards becoming fully recognised Financial Capability and Entrepreneurship Colleges. Other schools are placing particular importance on continuity across educational stages, ensuring that financial capability is introduced and reinforced from primary to middle and secondary school so that students encounter and build this knowledge throughout their school years. The programme’s broader educational reach also includes First Sixth Form and the Institute of Tourism Studies, reflecting growing recognition of its relevance beyond compulsory schooling.
The main challenge in expanding participation further is not a lack of interest. On the contrary, schools are showing strong interest in the programme. The real challenge lies in the increasing number of projects and demands schools are managing within each academic term. Yet the growth of the Centre of Excellence shows that more schools are understanding the value of embedding financial capability within what they already do.
At the same time, more remains to be done. There is still a gap in uptake among some Church schools and State schools, particularly in the North and Central areas of Malta, and specialised educational settings, including schools with a focus on sport and performing arts, where wider engagement is needed. The next stage of growth will therefore be about deepening national reach and ensuring that more students, in more schools, have access to the knowledge, confidence, and mindset needed to become financially capable and entrepreneurial citizens
