The ongoing teachers’ strike has paralyzed learning in Kabale and Kisoro districts, forcing pupils to abandon classrooms for makeshift livelihoods as the standoff between government and educators drags into its fourth week.
Following the nationwide industrial action by the Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU), which began on September 15, 2025, schools in both districts remain largely deserted.
Many teachers have refused to return to class, demanding government address long-standing salary disparities between science and arts teachers.
During a visit to Nyabushabi Primary School and Nyagyera Primary School, classroom doors were found locked, with some compounds completely empty.
At schools that remain technically open, there were neither teachers nor pupils in sight.
As a result, many learners have sought alternative ways to occupy their time — from baking chapatis to vending sugarcane in local trading centres.
Twelve-year-old Alvin Amweine, a Primary Six pupil at Nyagyera Primary School, said he had lost hope of returning to class.
“We used to go to school and find no teachers. After some time, even the pupils stopped going. I decided to start baking chapatis to keep busy and make some money,” he said, standing by a roadside stall where he now works with an uncle.
The situation is particularly dire for Primary Seven candidates, who are expected to sit for the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) next month.
Many headteachers fear the strike could wipe out an entire term’s worth of preparation.
Christine Kobusigye, the headteacher of Lower Bugongi Primary School, said the industrial action has hit final-year pupils hardest.
“This strike has greatly affected P.7 learners. I do not expect good performance in this year’s PLE, especially in government schools,” she lamented.
Kabale District Education Officer (DEO) Moses Bwengye confirmed that learning in all government schools has stalled.
He expressed concern that some children may never return to class even after the strike ends.
“There is no teaching going on. Some learners have joined businesses, and we are likely to record a huge number of school dropouts, just like during the COVID-19 pandemic. It will take serious effort to bring them back,” Bwengye said.
The industrial action, now entering its fifth week, shows no sign of resolution. While government has maintained that it cannot enhance salaries for arts teachers this financial year, UNATU leaders insist they will not resume work until pay equity is achieved.
Meanwhile, in Kabale and Kisoro’s bustling trading centres, the unintended consequences of the standoff are on full display — smoke from frying pans where pupils now flip chapatis, and the hum of sugarcane peelers replacing the recitation of multiplication tables.
For these young learners, survival has taken precedence over schooling — a stark reminder that the classroom crisis has moved beyond policy papers and pay slips, and into the lived realities of Uganda’s children.