President Museveni has asked teachers who feel not satisfied with the current pay to peacefully resign their jobs other than frustrating the students they teach.
“If you feel you can’t teach, please I advise you to tell the ministry you cannot teach because of many temptations and you go away. I beg you for your own good,”Museveni said on Saturday during the closing ceremony of the second National Primary Teacher’s Conference at St Lawrence College, Maya in Wakiso district.
“Being asked to raise children you did not produce is a divine assignment. This is an incredible responsibility but also a trap for those who do not appreciate it. Beyond government enforcement, there is accountability to God. This is the most important aspect in teaching.”
Museveni told teachers that well as it is in plan for government to increase the remuneration for teachers and other members of the public sector, it would be foolhardy to prioritise remuneration over other strategic issues that are crucial for the economic development of the country.
He cited roads and dams that he noted would lower the cost of manufacturing and create jobs which will, in turn, boost the citizens’ purchasing power.
“Resultantly, this means the government will earn now taxes, which then will see the remuneration of our workers. Going by that strategy and our peculiar challenges as a country, one would appreciate that it takes more time to achieve this goal than some enemies would have you believe.”
“It takes a little bit of time to pay well public servants the way we want to do it.”
In 2017, President Museveni promised to raise salaries for science teachers, arguing that they were few and likely to seek greener pastures abroad, a move which prompted a strike from their arts counterparts.
Government later abandoned the move signed a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with 10 labour unions to enhance salaries of all public workers on June 22, 2018.
The pay target was approved to be implemented in a phased manner over a period of five years starting from FY 2018/19 and in the first phase which came into effect in July, at least shs525bn was provided for nine categories of public servants.
At the second National Primary Teacher’s Conference Peter Ssennono from Kyotera Primary School beat 50 others from 117 districts all over the country to be awarded the best teacher in Uganda.
The 50 best performing teachers were also rewarded with shs50 million.
