Education stakeholders urge school proprietors to strengthen financial management, professional leadership and succession planning to secure the future of their institutions.
A school’s success is often measured by its academic performance, enrollment and infrastructure. But for retired Commissioner for Secondary Schools Sam Kuloba, the real test is whether an institution can continue to thrive after its founder or head teacher leaves.
“Establishing a school requires major investment, but the continuing financial challenges begin after opening it,” Kuloba said.
He was speaking at the Stanbic Business Forum held at Mount Elgon Hotel in Mbale on Tuesday, where education stakeholders from Eastern Uganda gathered to discuss how schools can remain financially stable, professionally managed and capable of delivering quality education over the long term.
Held under the theme “The Extra Mile: Building Schools for a Sustainable Future,” the forum challenged school proprietors to look beyond constructing classrooms and increasing enrollment to building institutions supported by strong financial systems, effective leadership and long-term planning.
Kuloba said schools need realistic budgets, proper accounting, transparent financial reporting and responsible expenditure to manage their resources effectively. He also urged proprietors to diversify legitimate income sources, develop three- to five-year strategic plans and prioritise completing existing projects rather than spreading resources across multiple unfinished developments.
Partnerships with financial institutions, he added, could help schools finance development while maintaining better control over their resources.
For Kuloba, however, financial discipline is only one part of sustainability. Schools must also reduce their dependence on individual founders and head teachers by establishing professional management structures, clear accountability systems and succession plans.
“The real measure of leadership is not whether the institution depends on you. It is whether the institution can continue to perform, grow and deliver quality education even when you are no longer there,” he said.
He urged school leaders to invest in teachers, arguing that the quality of education and the long-term strength of an institution depend on the people responsible for learning.
“Invest in the teacher. When you invest in the teacher, you improve learning outcomes. That is sustainability. You are building for the future, not just for today,” Kuloba said.
He also called for responsible adoption of technology, stronger partnerships with government and the private sector, and investment in appropriate infrastructure. These measures, he said, should be part of a deliberate process that begins before a school encounters financial or leadership difficulties.
Tunde Thorpe, Stanbic Bank Uganda’s Executive Head of Business and Commercial Banking, said schools are important to the country’s wider economic development because they help build the human capital needed to support growth across different sectors.
He said the bank supports businesses and institutions through financing, payment solutions and capacity building, adding that more than Shs5 trillion of Stanbic’s money is invested across different sectors of the economy.
But he said the impact of financial institutions should be assessed beyond their balance sheets.
“It is also seen in the school that expands responsibly, the teacher who is better supported, the young person who gains relevant skills, the woman who builds a sustainable enterprise, and the farmer who can produce, add value and reach a dependable market,” Thorpe said.
He linked investment in education to Uganda’s ambition to grow its economy from about $50 billion to $500 billion by 2040, driven by agro-industrialisation, tourism, mineral development, and science, technology and innovation.
Human capital, he said, will be one of the foundations of that ambition, making sustainable investment in education essential to the country’s long-term development.
Hassan Nkuutu, Senior Education Inspector for Mbale, emphasised the need to strengthen the capacity of education inspectors through continuous professional development, refresher courses and training.
He said inspectors must keep pace with changes in the education system while schools strengthen early childhood education and foundational learning.
“If the education system is changing, those responsible for monitoring it must also continuously develop their skills,” Nkuutu said.
Melisa Nyakwera, Stanbic’s Head of Commercial Banking, said the bank was ready to support school proprietors beyond financing classroom construction, including helping them address financial management challenges that can undermine institutional growth.
“Developing a school is about building more than classrooms. It is about building a sustainable future for generations to come,” she said.
The discussions pointed to a broader challenge facing school owners: expanding an institution is not the same as securing its future. Buildings and enrolment can demonstrate growth, but lasting success depends on whether a school has the financial discipline, professional leadership and systems to continue serving learners across generations.
