In the face of uncertainty, Stanbic Bank has written off more than Shs400 billion interest accrued on school loans in 2021.This means if you are a school owner and received a loan from Stanbic Bank, you will now only be required to pay only the loan principal.

This decision is on the account of the toll Covid-19 has taken on businesses in the education Sector.

According to the Ms Anne Juuko, the Stanbic Bank chief executive officer, said their decision to waive unpaid accumulated interests on loans for privately owned schools is a proactive initiative based on the understanding that schools have not been earning.

She further said that the SME special fund has not been clearly articulated as they are waiting for government to honour its commitment by injecting Shs100 billion into SMEs that have been negatively impacted by the Covid-19.   

Dr Kedrace Turyagyenda, the Director of Education Standards in the Ministry of Education and Sports said government is not just watching but also hoping that other industry players will emulate this gesture.

“Education is our collective responsibility which we cannot leave to the government alone,” Dr Turyagyenda said. 

Dr  Turyagyenda said teachers in private schools should  be able to access the Shs200 billion offered by governments as support.

Stanbic bank has taken the bold step of writing off and not just restructuring interest for 12 months for schools.

Education sector      

Uganda’s education sector is over 28,000 schools’ strong of which 80 percent are privately owned. With over 500,000 teaching and non-teaching staff and over 16 million students, the sector contributes 5 percent to the country’s GDP.