Unatu asks govt to increase salaries of arts teachers

The Uganda National Teachers’ Union (Unatu) has urged government to consider enhancement of salary for arts teachers in the next financial year for fairness within the teaching profession.

In 2021, the presidential directive of increasing salaries for science teachers was implemented, leaving their counterparts frustrated.

Unatu secretary general Filbert Baguma Tuesday said the move risked causing conflicts amongst Uganda’s teachers with some earning twice their former salary.

“The government should enhance salaries of teachers fairly without discrimination across the education sub-sector to avoid conflict within the teaching profession,” Baguma remarked at a press conference in Kampala.

He added: “If government is indeed serious about promoting quality education in Uganda, the enhancement of salaries for primary school teachers and those of arts and humanities in the post primary institutions should be urgently provided for in the said increment in the budget of FY2024/25.”

The science teachers’ salaries were increased by a 300 percent pay for graduate and Grade V teachers to Shs4million and Shs3million, up from Shs1.1m and Shs796,000 respectively.

The Director of Education International's African Regional Office, Dennis Sinyolo, also appealed to the government to increase the funding in the education sector which he termed a “public good.”

“We call upon the government everywhere in Africa, including Uganda to invest in public quality education, to invest in infrastructure, to avail teaching and learning resources, so that parents don’t send their children to private school simply because there are no public schools available.” Sinyolo said.

He further observed that: “We are informed that in Rwanda, the government has been strengthening public schools. Some parents are removing their children from private schools to public schools and in many European schools, education is a public good, provided by the state.”

According to him, most African governments only invest 3.8 percent of the GDP and less than 15 percent of the national budget on education as opposed to the UN recommended 20 percent.

In the last two financial years, Uganda has increased funding to the education sector, to ensure free education.

Since FY 2019/2020 to 2022/23, government has invested at least Shs130 billion in the development and rollout of the revised lower secondary curriculum. This excludes the initial funding injected in the earlier stages prior to F Y2019/2020, according to official data.