Exactly two years after El Salvador established Bitcoin as its legal tender, El Salvador’s Ministry of Education launched its program to teach students in public colleges about Bitcoin. The program was started in partnership with My First Bitcoin, Bitcoin Seaside, and native Bitcoin initiatives.
The program will see 150 public faculty lecturers trained on Bitcoin earlier to train in their respective faculties in their native colleges. According to Coinbase, as of 2018, blockchain education had already penetrated institutions of higher learning. 42 universities out of the top 50 universities were already offering a minimum of one course in Blockchain and cryptocurrency.
El Salvador’s Bitcoin curriculum
John Denhey stated on Twitter that the teachers have been training for over a year. The teachers have also been teaching, contributing to the improvement of the diploma. The founding father of My First Bitcoin, also stated that public school teachers were also being trained at the moment on how to send and receive Bitcoin. On the announcement, he stated that the teachers would spread across the country to their local schools next week to do the same with their students.
El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as its native currency, becoming the first state to try out the crypto experiment at a national level. The country is buttressing its commitment by taking Bitcoin training to the next level. So far, the country has experienced some technical issues as most locals do not know what to do with the technology.
Some locals have also been unable to download the wallet app; when they did, it did not work, making adopting the new legal currency problematic.On the other hand, tourism in the country has surged in response to the move.
My First Bitcoin, a non-profit organization, has taught 25000 students in El Salvador. The organization launched in 2021 and recently developed an Open source 10-week diploma accessible to everyone online. This is different from the courses at the university. The diploma was already offered to students in the country and was later used to educate the Ministry of Education staff about the crypto and is now instrumental in training educators.
The student workbook,187 pages long, touches on subjects such as the role of money, the dark side of fiat, and economic education. The workbook is available in Spanish,Korean, German and English.
The workbook echoes concepts from the Bitcoin book” The Bitcoin Standard,” whose author, Saifedean Ammous, is an advisor of the El Salvador president Nayib Bukele, who has been a vocal champion of Bitcoin adoption in his state. The author, however, did not make any direct contributions to the curriculum, which was developed by a team comprising teachers from the USA and El Salvador.
However, the diploma model was reviewed by Giacomo Zucco, a Bitcoin and Lighting developer. Denhey stated that the past two years have been a difficult road, but the students have been receptive to their ideas. Students who successfully complete their training will be awarded a diploma to show their skillfulness in cryptocurrency concepts.
The founder sees the El Salvador initiative as more than just an education venture but also an inspiration to the rest of the world to adopt cryptocurrency by setting a positive precedent. The world keenly observes El Salvador’s notable strides toward a crypto-savvy future.
Other initiatives by My First Bitcoin
My First Bitcoin is currently working with international grassroots initiatives in various countries such as Guatemala, Cuba US, and the UK. Denhey also stated that two more Latin American states had contacted My First Bitcoin in the last month, seeking a collaboration regarding state Bitcoin education.
The non-profit is already collaborating with the Mexican government to educate 250 students on cryptocurrency with the help of Indria Kempis Martinez, who is known for championing the adoption of Bitcoin in her country. Denhey is optimistic about the spread of Bitcoin education in the world, stating that, as of now, the focus is El Salvador, but the mission is the world.
