Government releases Shs 150 billion for teachers' salaries

Government has earmarked Shs 150 billion to enhance teachers’ salaries this financial year.

Out of this money Shs 15 billion will specifically go to universities to boost teaching and non-teaching staff salaries.

Shs 135 billion will cater for teachers, instructors, tutors, lecturers, head teachers, principals and their deputies in primary schools, secondary and tertiary Institutions respectively.

This is expected to achieve enhancement of about 30% of the long-term pay target.

Pubic universities and degree awarding institutions will have Shs15 billion allocated to them for both teaching and non-teaching.

The public service minister Muruli Mukasa said this will however come in the second quarter of this financial year.

He said that on the payment plan, government looks at increasing teachers’ salaries by 35%.

Those who have attained this percentage will not be catered for in this arrangement.

Muruli said that in the next financial year salaries will be a priority area.

The announcement comes when public universities teaching and non-teaching staff had agreed to withhold labour until government fulfils the agreed increment plan.

Today at Makerere University the Forum for academic staff of public universities and the public universities non-teaching staff executive forum held a meeting.

In Unisom they agreed to go ahead with the strike until government comes out with an official communication to them regarding their salaries. Teachers says according to the agreement a professor is supposed to earn Shs 15 million, on estimate they need an addition of Shs 157 billion.