Govt to promote 180 caretaker school heads

The government is set to appoint and promote more than 180 secondary school head teachers who have been acting for more than a year to substantive head teachers. The promotion and confirmation targets the caretaker head teachers in government-owned and aided secondary schools across the country.

An October 8, 2024 notice by the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Education and Sports, Dr Kedrace Turyagyenda, says more than 180 schools are without substantive head teachers and that the ministry seeks to fill those positions.

“It has been observed with concern that over one hundred eighty (180) secondary schools do not have substantive headteachers. Officers were assigned higher duties to "caretaker" these offices for a period of six months until a substantive headteacher is appointed or deployed. However a number of you have been "caretaking" in these positions for more than one year contrary to Section (A-c) (9) of the Uganda Public Service Standing Orders, 2021,” the letter in part read.

It added: “In a bid to pave the way for efficient and effective administration and management of secondary schools, the Ministry of Education and Sports has considered recommending all assigned or "Caretaker" Headteachers who meet the requirements to the Education Service Commission for interviews to assess their suitability for appointment on promotion to Headteacher, Scale U1E.”

Requirements

Dr Turyagyenda asked all assigned officers who meet the minimum qualifications to fill in the Education Service Commission Form 3 application forms and attach copies of certificates, transcripts, and appointment letters; attach a recommendation letter from the chairperson, board of governors in consultation with the foundation body in case the secondary school is a faith-based institution; present a status report clearly highlighting their achievements, challenges and future plans in terms of academic performance, among others.

Applicants should also possess a Master's Degree in Education or a field related to Education with a minimum of 12 years teaching experience in a government-aided secondary school, three of which should have been served as a substantive deputy headteacher.

The ministry, however, said those who shall be appointed would remain in their current duty station. It warned successful applicants not to seek transfers to other schools.

The Uganda National Teachers’ Union (Unatu) yesterday welcomed the move.

Mr Filbert Baguma, the Unatu chairperson, said for years, many secondary schools had been operating without substantive headteachers and their deputies, making their work difficult.

He said such head teachers occupying the caretaker positions, which don’t exist in the human resource manuals of the government, have been prone to exploitation by their supervisors who demand for bribes to secure their positions.

Mr Baguma also said many teachers did not respect their caretaker head teachers and deputies because they thought they were at the same level, thereby breeding indiscipline among teachers.

“They would ask whom do you think you are? Even the board members and other management teams would bully the caretaker head teachers to get away with what they wanted to do,” he said.

Primary schools

 Mr Baguma said the situation in primary schools under local governments is very dire.

“It is even worse when you go to the primary schools because when you go to local government schools, more than half of the head teachers are caretaker head teachers,” he said.

Mr Baguma added: “How do ask a caretaker headteacher to account for a position that doesn’t exist?...I think what the government has started is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done. They must fill the positions in both the secondary and primary schools so that these substantive head teachers and their substantive deputies can account for their actions in their respective offices.” 

Human resource

According to the 2023 state of Human Capital compiled by the Ministry of Public Service, 1,072 of 1,170 head teacher positions were filled, representing a 92 percent staffing rate, which the ministry said was a slight decrease of (3 percent) in filled positions compared to 2022. 

The same statistics indicated that 1,099 of the 1,306 available positions for deputy head teachers were filled representing 84 percent representing a 3 percent decrease from 2022.