Private Schools In Uganda Demand Shs2.5 Trillion Government Bailout

Private school owners across Uganda have asked President Museveni to come clear on their Shs2.5 trillion bailout request.

Addressing a press conference this week, the chairperson of the National Private Educational Institutions Association (NPEIA), Hasadu Kirabira, said the President early this year promised to respond to their request for a Shs2.5 trillion stimulus package.

President Museveni had also in March 2020 pledged a Shs20b relief package for private teachers who had gone months without pay but the teachers are yet to receive the money.

According to Kirabira, private schools admit 100 per cent of all nursery students, 66 per cent secondary and 40 per cent of primary school pupils.

He said it is necessary that government fulfils its pledge of Shs20 billion stimulus package as bailout for the schools.

The proprietors of private schools also said they were dismayed by remarks of government officials that they sell their institutions and pay loans.

Finance minister Matia Kasaija, while appearing before the Parliament’s Committee on Trade, Tourism and Industry last week, asked private schools to sell their properties to pay loans, saying government does not have money to bail them out.

Kasaija was quoted as saying “If you do not have another property to sell and save your school, go to the bank and negotiate.”

Private schools owners urged the Finance minister to stop from underestimating the role played by private schools in Uganda’s education sector.

According to Kirabira, private schools enrol more than 6 million learners across the country and employ more than 800,000 teaching and non-teaching staff.

He added that private schools also contribute 4 per cent of the national GDP and contribute Shs200b in taxes every financial year.

The deputy secretary general for NPEIA in-charge of Kampala region, Alex John Sseruwu, also asked government to waive taxes on private schools.

According to Sseruwu, government continues to impose ground rent, income tax, and pay as you earn on private schools even during closure.

Private school owners also tasked the government to come out and tell the country when schools will be reopened for all learners.