Equity Bank gives Busoga High School a new bus, with cameras onboard

Busoga High School has a new way to get its students to and from campus: a 67-seater Isuzu bus fitted with onboard cameras, handed over by Equity Bank Uganda this week as road accidents involving school children continue to rattle the country.

The bus, financed through the bank’s asset financing arm, arrives as the ministry of Education and Sports keeps school tours and trips suspended while it investigates a string of recent crashes involving school vehicles.

For Busoga High, the more immediate problem the bus solves is simpler: getting kids off the roadside. Many students currently walk two to three kilometers to and from school, according to Kamuli municipal education officer Ivan Wakabi, who was guest of honour at the handover.

“When students walk two to three kilometers to and from school every day, they are exposed to traffic hazards and accidents,” Wakabi said. “This new bus provides a safe, controlled environment where our learners are protected on their daily commute.”

Wakabi said the bank deserved credit for backing education “beyond conventional banking,” and pressed other schools to put money into roadworthy vehicles, regular maintenance and stricter safety enforcement rather than leaving students to fend for themselves on busy roads or in unregulated public transport.

School board chairperson Dr Kakuba Mpango used the ceremony to speak directly to the new driver.

“A school bus carries the future of this nation,” he said. “Drive carefully, obey traffic regulations and always remember that parents are entrusting you with their children.” A priest was also invited to bless the bus and the driver before it goes into service.

Tom Mwanje, Equity Bank’s Jinja branch manager, said the bus loan is one piece of a broader financing package the bank offers schools — covering everything from dormitories and science labs to short-term cash flow gaps like payroll. The idea, he said, is to let schools invest in infrastructure “without straining their cash flows.”

The handover comes at a sensitive moment for school transport in Uganda. The recent spate of fatal crashes has pushed road safety for learners up the national agenda, and officials at Thursday’s ceremony framed the new bus as one small, concrete answer to a problem that will ultimately need schools, parents, financiers, government and drivers pulling in the same direction.

For now, Busoga High School has one more bus, one less reason for its students to walk the roadside, and a camera system meant to keep everyone — driver included — accountable for what happens on board.

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