State Minister, Mugasa speaking on the floor of Parliament recently
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I The downing of tools of arts teachers around the country has paralysed Uganda’s education system, causing trauma to parents and children alike.
According to Grace Mary Mugasa, the Minister of State for Public Service said that currently, it is the children of the poor people who are primarily suffering from the effects of the strike.
“The rich parents have since taken their children to private schools,” she pointed out, posing a question to the striking teachers: If we are saying that you are teaching humanities, why are you not humane enough to know that you are not punishing anybody, but poor children and their parents.?
Mugasa said that the Government is planning to enhance the salaries of all art teachers across the board in the next financial year, which will start on July 1.
But officials from the ministry of Finance have revealed that the Ugandan government needs to allocate approximately Shs 363.7 billion annually for a four-year phased enhancement of Arts teachers’ salaries, starting in the 2026/27 financial year.
He added that this plan aims to raise their salaries to match those of their Science counterparts and head teachers.
Mugasa said that salary enhancement will be a process, which requires a lot of patience.
“The affected arts teachers should wait for two months to allow the long process of salary enhancement to start. We are promising that beginning September next financial year, which is two months from now, we shall work with them to make sure their salary is enhanced. Because the budgeting process starts then,” she said.
While addressing journalists today at the Uganda Media Center, Mugasa said that Government has so far failed to get money to enhance the salary of the striking Arts teachers.
“We had planned to enhance salaries across board in the financial year 2024-2025. But the enhancement of 2023 spilled over to 2024-2025,” she said, adding that other categories of human resource, like the humanities cadres have not been enhanced.
Mugasa made the revelation during a press conference held to address the 14th Africa Public Service Day which fell on June 23rd.
Humble appeal
Mugasa made a humble appeal to the teachers to go back to the classrooms. She pointed out that this financial year, the bulk of the budget is going to cater for the forthcoming elections and that there is no money for enhancement of salaries.
“We are requesting our dear teachers of humanities to go back to class because being a government worker is also an honor,” she said
She added that the private schools, what they pay to their teachers is just peanuts. The average, she said is between 300,000 and 400,000. But they are in class teaching without any complaints.
Facing the sack
Government has warned the striking teachers that it will find a way of having the affected students taught, in addition to writing their exams at the end of the term.
“If you are not in class, you risk losing your job. Because we have raised an army of students who are volunteering in SEED schools and they are not yet employed. They are also struggling to get teaching positions in Government schools,” she said, adding: “If you give them an opportunity, they will take your jobs, which is not good though.”
Uganda will commemorate the Africa Public Service Day on the 7th of July 2025 at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds. It will be held under the continental theme ‘Enhancing the agility and resilience of public institutions to achieve equitable governance and rapidly address historical service delivery gaps.”
This day is celebrated annually by all UN member states in recognition of the United Nations International Day of Public Service.
