Martin Lewis is just a few thousand short of his e-petition to get basic understanding of personal finance and consumer rights for school children.

I support this and ask would you please just add your signature, it only takes about 20 seconds, you will get an email to confirm it is you signing, so check your spam or junk box!

The e-petition

Responsible department: Department for Education

It's a national disgrace that in the 20 years since introducing student loans, we’ve educated our youth into debt when they go to university, but never about debt. We're a financially illiterate nation, with millions caught by misselling, overborrowing and being ripped off. Is it any surprise we’ve just had a debt imbued financial crisis. This must change.

Companies spend billions on marketing and teaching their staff to sell – it's time we got buyers' training. The most cost effective way to start is to ensure every child in the country gets a basic understanding of personal finance & consumer rights before leaving school. This isn’t a large resource requirement. Some schools already do it, but the majority don’t and that needs to end.

Unless it's compulsory, head teachers can’t prioritise for it. 97% of people support this, yet no one will take up the baton. We have one of the world’s most complex consumer economies; it's time our children were taught how to thrive and survive in it.

Number of signatures: 95,557 updated 1353 hrs 27/10/11 - 100,000 required to go before Parliament

Created by Martin Lewis

Closing: 12/02/2012

To read more and sign go to Sign e-petition