Ontario Will Now Teach Students How To Apply For A Mortgage & Pay Off Debt In Grade 9

Ontario's Minister of Education, Stephen Lecce, has announced that Ontario's Grade 9 math curriculum will be modernized this fall to better equip students for the future with courses on financial literacy, coding, data, and more.

The overhaul will also end the practice of separating Grade 9 students into applied and academic courses to ensure no one is at a disadvantage or excluded from learning about these essential skills.

The financial literacy portion will teach students how to manage their money in the future, covering topics like "debt, savings, how to use a credit card, [and] how to take out a mortgage or rent," said Lecce in Wednesday's announcement.

"These are life skills that are going to set students apart, and what was missing in Ontario's curriculum that now students will benefit from today and in the future," he added.

In a statement, the Ministry of Education says the modernized curriculum will "ensure relevance to today's job market with an emphasis on practical life skills – from the concept of interest, debt, savings, personal budgeting and price comparisons."