Why Arts teachers have to wait longer for a salary raise

President Museveni has once again told teachers of humanities that their salaries won't be enhanced soon as they continue investing funds in the country’s priority areas like infrastructure.
Addressing hundreds of teachers during a belated 2024 World Teachers’ Day celebrations held at Lugogo Cricket Oval in Kampala at the weekend, Mr Museveni said Uganda was implementing only priorities amid scarcity.
“Whatever one plans must be in the context in which it is. For example, one’s hairstyle depends on the shape of the head. If you have got a big head, the hairstyle will be similarly affected. Therefore, our plans depend on the capacity of Uganda,” the President told teachers, some of whom were eagerly waiting to hear his stand on the contentious salary enhancement for teachers of humanities.
In July 2022, the government approved a salary increment for science teachers that saw the salary of a science teacher who is a degree holder increase from about Shs1.2m to Shs4m per month, compared to Shs900,000 that their counterparts teaching humanities are earning.
This forced arts teachers in government schools to lay down their tools, contesting the salary discrepancy.
However, the strike was later called off after several meetings were held between the Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU) leadership and a host of government officials, including President Museveni.
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During the Teachers’ Day celebrations, the President explained that when he was in the bush fighting against Dr Milton Obote’s regime in the early 1980s, his rebel group faced so many challenges but they had to prioritise them.
“We didn't have enough food but we would say, the little food which is there, give more to the people who are guarding the camp today so that they stay awake. When you are all hungry, you start dozing. This is suicidal because the enemy will come and attack you,” Mr Museveni observed.
He asserted that it is a bad idea for planners to split resources into smaller portions, especially at a time when the country is striving to deal with the recovery of the economy and offering mass education, mass vaccination, security for all, and access to electricit , among critical services that Ugandans yearn for.
President Museveni revealed that in 2006, the budget for the water sector was small compared to what was injected into electricity and roads because the latter meant more factories, more businesses, more jobs, and more taxes needed to spur economic development.
The President also did not have kind words for administrators at Soroti Aviation Academy who are demanding a salary increment, yet the academy can remain operational even if they choose to resign.
“When we increased the salary for pilots at the academy to Shs25m, the general manager who is ...Greek...or studied literature like me, said he wants to get more money than the pilots yet the academy will not exist without them. The academy is now a big business, attracting students from different parts of Africa,” Mr Museveni explained.
He, however, said the government’s target is to pay all public servants well, but also increase the number of public servants.
He said the government is employing fewer teachers due to economic challenges yet the country needs about 300,000 primary school teachers to achieve a teacher-pupil ratio of 1:50.
He donated Shs20b to teachers' saccos.
The First Lady, who doubles as the Minister for Education and Sports, Ms Janet Museveni, echoed the President’s promise, saying the government is committed to improving the welfare of all employees in a phased manner.
“When that time comes for teachers of humanities, it will be a useful amount instead of giving a small piece of the little that is available. If that were to be the case, the little that you would get would be meaningless to all of you,” she said.
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Ms Lydia Patricia Namande, a teacher of English and Literature at Kansanga Seed Secondary School in Kampala, said: “We all take three years at institutions of learning and we should be given the same amount of money considering the new lower secondary curriculum, which is tedious and costly.”
In a joint message for World Teachers’ Day, the heads of UNESCO, International Labour Organisation, UNICEF, and the general secretary of Education International, noted the declining recognition of teaching profession.
The officials added that overall loss of appeal of teaching as a profession compounded by low pay, excessive workloads, reduced autonomy, were driving talented individuals away from the profession, putting the quality and accessibility of education at risk.
Celebrated since 1994, World Teachers’ Day is marked every October 5.
Accoriding to UNESCO, this day celebrates teachers.
It is also held to commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, which sets benchmarks regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers, and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions.