Improve teachers’ pay in order to retain them

This week, authorities in Jinja City decried the quality of education in the area after it emerged that there was a shortage of teachers.

The inspector of schools, Mr Samuel Ngobi, said at the handover of a Shs200m classroom block to Buwagi Primary School in Northern Division that 130 of the teachers abandoned teaching for jobs and businesses that are more beneficial.

As a result of the shortage, especially in Mafubira, Bugembe and Budondo wards, head teachers have been forced to merge some streams, which makes the classes overcrowded and erodes the teacher-student ratio of 1:50 pupils.

It should be recalled that schools took the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic after government closed learning institutions for close to two years and sent more than 15 million learners home. At the reopening of schools at the beginning of last year, some school owners had either converted their schools to other businesses or lost teachers to greener pastures.

Ms Christine Babirye of Masese Co Education Primary School in Jinja City paints the grim picture better. She used to have 24 teachers before the pandemic, but currently has only 17 because the others found teaching no longer appealing after schools were reopened.

Teachers in Uganda have for a while now been locked in battles with government over better salaries and working conditions. Mid last year, learners from both primary and secondary schools were left stranded as arts teachers across the country went on strike. Teachers under their umbrella body, the Uganda National Teachers’ Union (Unatu), had earlier warned of the industrial action, demanding for uniform salary increment, and not just for science teachers.

Just this week, secondary school teachers in Apac District stormed the office of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) demanding their three-month salary arrears. The aggrieved teachers demand salary payment for the months of November and December last year, and for February this year.

And it is no surprise that in the end it is the learners who are suffering. During the release of the 2022 Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) results last week, State minister for Higher Education John Muyingo said there was need for concern because of the zeros scored in many papers.

“The results could have been much better if all our teachers were rendering services expected of them. It is time for us to crack down on this habit [absenteeism],” Mr Muyingo rightly pointed out.

But in the end teachers too have responsibilities to their families and, therefore, deserve decent salaries if they are to fully concentrate on teaching our children. 

Short of that, teachers have learnt that there is life outside the classroom and there will be no stopping them.

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