Teachers Queries

Attend to Teachers Queries for improved UPE performance

By Adellah Agaba

It’s alarming how a Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Education Rose Nassali Lukwago came out in public and claimed that she is not aware that teachers have not received their salaries for over two months. The Permanent Secretary stated how it is difficult for her to know who has been paid or not in front of the Public Service and Local Government Committee and indicated that teachers who have not been paid should come out and complain which in my opinion is an insult to the teachers and the public at large without forgetting her position in the Ministry. 

In 2013, teachers came out to stage a strike for an increment in their salaries by 20% stating that their then salaries could not take care of their basic needs and still go ahead to teach pupils in a comfortable state, reason why some teachers take on side jobs to sustain their cost of living, encouraging absenteeism which represents a major threat to the continuity of pupil’s learning, especially where this occurs on a relatively frequent basis.  In Kanungu District where UDN works hand in hand with the community to monitor prudent service delivery by Government, there has been improved performance in UPE schools taking an example of Top Hill primary school which got 25 pupils in division one in 2013 compared to only one student in 2006. This was attributed to reduction in teachers’ absenteeism.

It’s clear to see that the education system will not improve if teachers living conditions are not put into consideration. A hungry teacher is an angry one who cannot transfer knowledge and skills to the pupils they teach. Adoption of Universal Primary Education in 1997, was a demonstration of Uganda’s commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Education for All (EFA), but at what cost? We cannot deny that education of the young generation is the future of Uganda but we also have to consider issues of quality which is a contribution that a content and satisfied teacher offers.

Meaningful improvements in the quality of education that pupils receive are highly dependent on the quality of teachers not ignoring teacher characteristics in the teaching and learning process which aid the acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values. For effective teaching and learning, teacher characteristics as well as the learning environment has a significant effect on pupil learning achievements in this case which are missing in Uganda’s UPE education sector.

Looking at the recently concluded Women’s Day celebrations in Kumi District, it was reported that NRM women MPs who were involved in the preparation of the glamorous event and mobilization of women in their different constituencies were all handed a 5 Million cash prize which added up to about Ugsh.600Million with 97 female NRM MPs in Parliament.  But when teachers rise up to claim their hard earned small salary, there is no money. It’s sad that as a country striving to get to 1^st World Country as stated by His Excellency President Museveni during the launch of Vision 2040, cannot invest in education which is the future of the country.

In Uganda Debt Network’s report on Minimum Funding Norms 2012, it was discovered that since the introduction of universal primary education, government funding for the education sector has increased significantly from 10% of the total budget in 1997/98 to 17% in 2012/13 in a bid to increase provision of basic education which is commendable, though not enough to improve pupils’ performance if looked at in isolation and ignoring the plight of teachers.

There has been success in quantity, but significant concerns about quality according to the UWEZO report, 2011 indicating that children are not getting the right education attainment after the various years of schooling, which can also be attributed to the frequent industrial action by teachers.

It’s high time the Ministry of Education and Sports took the teachers’ plight with some level of seriousness lest the results of ignoring teachers’ demands will be seen through the pupils’ performance.