In the long run, the Stock Market is one of the most powerful tools which can provide sufficient cushion to fight inflation & other required expenses that we bear in life. It is high-time we modified the way of teaching about the stock market to the young minds who are studying as of now. Our motive is to make them understand the benefits of building a long term delivery based stocks portfolio that has the capability to provide super returns on investment in the long run. Our job is to make the student independent & they will learn to be independent only when they feel the heat (though in a protected/ controlled environment) before finishing their formal education.

I would support the thought where parents will encourage & motivate the kids to invest in the stock market as early as possible in their life. Let them learn how the stock market functions & what are the benefits of investing. Students (in college/ university) should be given some spare money & ask them to invest. They will get the rank/ grade after one year which will depend on the returns that they have secured by investing. This could be included as a module in the curriculum itself. The initial money which students are going to get for investing could be added to the fees as ‘stock market module fees’. Faculties/ Parents/ Guardians would be there to guide them only but choosing the company, analyzing the financials of that company, predicting the return what it may give, taking a final decision whether to invest or not in this company would be taken by the students.

Probably, we can think of a centralized system of having a Demat account under the student category if the student is in India from any (duly approved) university which could be opened when s/he will start his UG course & will be valid till s/he finishes PG. Annually, its portfolio can be monitored & ranked.

Author:
Vikas Chandra Sharma, Assistant Professor, Unitedworld School of Business (UWSB)

Disclaimer: The opinions / views expressed in this article are solely of the author in his / her individual capacity. They do not purport to reflect the opinions and/or views of the College and/or University or its members.