Gov’t should think about the teachers’ plight

By Guest Writer

The consequences of Covid-19 on the economic, social, and political spheres of our lives are hugely dramatic, and cannot be underscored. Many sectors have been grossly affected. But most notably, is the education sector. Schools have been closed, academic calendars spliced, and teachers, especially those in the private sector, consequentlyfalling out of their professional employment.
It is common knowledge that teachers are at the heart of education. They are the most important school-side factor in any child’s learning cycle. Unfortunately, they are always among the least prioritized groups of the formal sector.

During the first lockdown, the President had promised the teachers in private sector a token of recovery fund. This lumpsum of money like any other Uganda’s recovery funds, disappeared in thin air. Teachers, who waited for this money in vain, opted to use their meagre earnings following the partial opening up of schools, to strive and recover from theshock. Hardly had they started the recovery process than the second school closure was instituted. This automatically pushes them back into the same unyielding circumvention.

One, therefore, wonders whether the government has any practical thoughts for these teachers who are pivotal to our children’s future. We need a motivated workforce to entrust with our children. A burnt-out teacher will never aptly deliver to the academic satisfaction of our children.
Thus, the government should earnestly work out a proper mechanism to support teachers during the days of school closure. Those who stole the teachers’ money should be brought to book. We should not normalize the process of bastardising this very important profession.