Nearly 1 in 5 school-aged children are out of school.

A quality education is a fundamental human right. Every additional year of education generates a 7.6% increase in a child’s future earnings – helping to break the cycle of poverty. For those living in poverty, quality education is far too often a luxury that families simply cannot afford.

Although government schools are often low-cost or free, many suffer from overcrowding, underfunding, chronic teacher absenteeism, strikes or bureaucracy issues that make it nearly impossible for students to learn even basic literacy or numeracy skills. Low-cost, entrepreneur-run private and community schools are a fast-growing solution, but come with issues of their own – school fees and textbooks are expected to be paid as a lump sum at the start of the year, a sum that can be too costly for families living day-to-day. The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the barriers to education for children in poor communities – many of whom face significant learning losses and may never return to school.

That's where education loans come in.

Small loans help by giving parents the option of paying school fees and associated costs for uniforms and textbooks up front at the start of the school year, allowing them to pay this back in small, regular instalments. School fee loans make school fees manageable, encouraging families to prioritise their children's education and providing the tools to do so. School fee loans are providing families with the ability to spread out the costs of sending their children back to school while they recover from the economic impacts of the pandemic.

School improvement loans help create quality classrooms in low-cost community schools, allowing school administrators to improve the quality of education they provide. Affordable, independent schools will play a crucial role in filling gaps in education systems, recovering learning losses and ensuring access to quality education beyond the pandemic. Alongside the funding that allows them to invest in better infrastructure or resources, school leaders are supported to continually improve the quality of the education they provide through Opportunity's EduQuality program.

With access to quality education, the next generation has the chance to break free from the cycle of poverty for good.