Leaders call for equitable pay, staff retention policy

Stakeholders, leaders, and educationists from Tooro sub-region have urged the government to address disparities in the current salary structure for secondary school teachers and consider enacting a new policy on staff retention to prevent early retirements.

During consultations with officials from the Education Policy Review Commission, which began on Monday and is set to end today, leaders emphasised the need for a new macro policy framework for the Ministry of Education and Sports. This framework aims to replace the outdated 1992 government White Paper on Education.

Mr Everest Niyonzima, the inspector of schools for Kyenjojo District, said many teachers are demotivated due to the different pay scales, especially where science teachers earn more than their arts counterparts. Mr Niyonzima said this has led some teachers to leave the profession.

“We all attended the same schools and serve the same Ugandan public. Why does the government segregate teachers when it comes to payment? Should art teachers be forced to switch to science just to earn a fair wage?” he said.

Kyenjojo District Chief Administrator Asman Masereka said despite salary enhancements for science teachers and health professionals, some of them are choosing to retire early at the age of 45, leaving districts with a shortage of civil servants.

Issue

Mr Masereka said if this continues, the pension bill will rise significantly, as retiring officers are entitled to gratuity payments.

“We need a policy on staff retention for those in service because we are losing experienced personnel to the private sector,” he said.

He added that some secondary school teachers with master’s degrees are still earning salaries equivalent to Grade 5 teachers because the position of graduate teachers has not been updated to reflect their higher qualifications.

A teacher, who wished to remain anonymous, said the new competence-based curriculum is more demanding compared to the old one, and many teachers, who were not trained when the curriculum was introduced, find it overwhelming.

Mr Robert Tibakunirwa, chairperson of Bundibugyo District, said despite the government’s policy to have one secondary school per sub-county and one primary school per parish, implementation has fallen short. Out of 27 lower administrative units in the district, only 12 have secondary schools.

He also pointed out that among the 130 parishes, only 107 have primary schools, with some parishes lacking any education facilities.

Dr Amanya Mushega, the chairman of the Education Policy Review Commission, said: “We have been travelling across the country, listening to various perspectives, and have received over 200 memos. We are nearing the end of our consultations and will soon prepare a general report for the government.”