Nakaseke District Tightens Pressure on Teachers Following Salary Increment

Headteachers and teachers in Nakaseke District face increased supervision and tougher accountability measures as district authorities move to improve learners' academic performance following the government's recent salary enhancement for teachers.

Headteachers and teachers in Nakaseke District face increased supervision and tougher accountability measures as district authorities move to improve learners’ academic performance following the government’s recent salary enhancement for teachers.

District leaders say they will intensify monitoring of schools and enforce existingaccountability measures to ensure improved teaching, better school management and higher learning outcomes.

The District Council, led by LC V Chairperson Ignatius Koomu Kiwanuka, also administered mock examinations to 52 teachers from 17 poorly performing primary schools in 2024, a move that drew criticism from sections of the teaching fraternity.

Now Koomu says the district’s performance-based accountability measures are beginning to yield results. According to Koomu, the number of Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) candidates who failed has dropped significantly to 139 in 2025 compared to earlier years, when over 500 learners failed annually.

He added that two headteachers have already been demoted after the majority of learners who sat exams at their schools failed in 2025. Over 40 headteachers have been demoted after failing to ensure that candidates pass PLE since the district introduced the administrative action in 2016. Koomu cited Butikwa Project Primary School in Kikamulo Sub-county as an example of the district’s approach bearing fruit.

The school, whose headteacher was replaced two years ago after poor performance, emerged as the best-performing government primary school in the district in the 2025 PLE results.Out of 99 candidates who sat the examinations, 69 passed in Division One while the remaining candidates obtained Division Two.

Koomu said the improvement demonstrates that decisive leadership and effective school management can translate into better academic outcomes.

He maintained that the district would not relent in enforcing accountability, adding that with government increasing salaries for both arts and science teachers, the expectation for improved performance is now even higher. According to the salary structure released by the Ministry of Public Service, the monthly salary for a primary school headteacher has increased to Shs 1,537,976 from between Shs777,512 and Shs980,211.

A Grade III primary school teacher now earns Shs700,000 per month, up from between Shs499,688 and Shs568,166.Nakaseke Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Ramathan Kasozi Kato said the salary enhancement will be accompanied by stricter supervision to ensure teachers fulfill their responsibilities and schools are properly managed.

Kasozi warned that the district would no longer tolerate absenteeism, saying teachers who fail to report for duty would not receive their salaries. He said the district would strengthen monitoring to ensure learners benefit from the government’s increased investment in the education sector.

Speaking during a ceremony over the weekend to honour Butikwa Project Primary School as the best-performing government primary school in last year’s Primary Leaving Examinations in Nakaseke district, National Resistance Movement Deputy Secretary General Rose Namayanja Nsereko commended Nakaseke district leadership for enforcing accountability measures that have improved academic performance.

Namayanja added that now the government had fulfilled its commitment to enhance the salaries of teachers and district administrators and urged education workers to reciprocate by ensuring all learners pass the exams. She said there should no longer be excuses for poor performance, adding that learners deserve quality education regardless of where they study.

During the function, Namayanja presented an academic excellence trophy and a bull donated through her foundation to recognize Butikwa Project Primary School’s outstanding performance and encourage other government schools to improve their academic standards.

Rahumah Nantongo, the headteacher of Butikwa Project Primary School, attributed the school’s performance to hard-working teachers and cooperation from the parents.

Nantongo welcomed the award, saying it will motivate the teachers to sustain the good performance. However, several other headteachers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that while they welcomed the salary enhancement, improving learners’ performance requires addressing broader challenges affecting both teachers and pupils.

They cited inadequate teachers’ accommodation, shortages of instructional materials, and the failure by many parents to provide lunch for learners, saying these factors continue to affect attendance, concentration, and overall academic performance.

The headteachers appealed to both government and parents to complement the salary enhancement with investments in school infrastructure and learner welfare to sustain improvements in education outcomes.