Sebi opens doors for today's students, tomorrow's investors

To make prospective investors aware about markets right from their school days onwards, Sebi will invite students to its headquarters and also conduct annual examinations to test their financial knowledge.

The visit to Sebi office would comprise slide shows for students regarding the capital market and Sebi's role as its regulator, as also an interactive session to answer questions from students.

Sebi said in a circular that it was inviting students from schools (of class IXth standard and above), college and professional institutes as part of its financial education initiatives.

The proposal for organising visits by school and college children was discussed at Sebi's board meeting last month as part of the 'Strategic action plan for investor education and awareness – 2011' proposed by the market regulator.

"It is proposed to welcome groups of students to visit Sebi and understand securities market. It would cover a general presentation followed by question-answer session," Sebi said in a memorandum presented to its board.

In another investor awareness measure, Sebi has proposed to 'sponsor an annual examination in English for school and/or college students to encourage them to acquire financial knowledge'.

Sebi plans to recover the cost of examination in the form of examination fees from students taking the test with those securing high marks to be given a certification.

Besides, students with extraordinary scores at state and national levels are be awarded by Sebi at special functions, the regulator has proposed.

As part of its efforts to promote financial education, Sebi would also look at training 100 teachers and cover 5,000 students through National Institute of Securities Market.