Milly Kakembo the Headmistress of Maranatha Primary School says that some learners miss lessons over lack of teachers and these end up performing poorly in end of year exams.
The Uganda National Teachers Union UNATU General Secretary James Tweheyo has said he will mobilise teachers to decampaign independent presidential candidate Amama Mbabazi.
Bernard Okello, the Luweero District Human Resource Officer says the civil servants were not paid because by time the district submitted their names for payment, the Finance Ministry hadnt yet received money for the new financial year.
Uganda National Teachers Union Secretary General, James Tweheyo has been elected to the Board Education Internal, a global union federation of teachers trade unions.
William Nzonghu, the Busongora County MP tasked the government Chief Whip Ruth Nankabirwa to explain why government had backtracked on it various promises to give the teachers a pay rise.
The budget framework paper presented by the Ministry of Education early this week shows that about 123.8 billion Shillings budgeted to cover the 10% enhancement of teachers\' salaries, is reflected as an unfunded priority.
Edward Ssenozi, the chairperson Uganda National Teachers\' Union Chairperson-Nakasongola branch says that some pupils wake up at 3am to graze the animals when the grass is still wet and by the time of going to school they are just returning home to catch up with sleep.
According to Paul Abul, the Moroto District Education officer, teachers in the district have been intractable over the years prompting the district to take stern action. He adds that disciplinary action will now be taken against all the listed individuals and until they are cleared, they will not resume duty.
However a source at district headquarters told URN Reporter that the transfers hit snag after complaints emerged that Education department had exercised bias and favouritism in transfers. The source says that some teachers asked for favours and were being tipped for schools in urban areas and with high population whereas other have not been moved again despite spending decades in the same schools.
UNATU says at the height of their sit-down strike and negotiations in 2012, they demanded that each teacher be given his/her pay-slip. Schools were also expected to be provided with teachers’ payrolls. James Tweheyo, the UNATU Secretary General, says this would help in rooting out ghost teachers and those whose salaries were illegally deducted.
Teachers across East Africa are pushing for a united front to incorporate their demands as the region moves towards political federation. The teachers feel that as the rest of the processes take centre stage, education has been relegated to the back seat, yet it is at the centre of effective development across the region.
The campaign codenamed “mobilize for quality education†is to review the main problems affecting the education sector. Key among them is the high school dropout rate, child labor, failure of parents to provide scholastic materials for their children and feeding.
Teachers in Kampala have sued Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) for excluding their representation as councillors to the council like other professional bodies.
Some of the parents who spoke to URN describe the timing of the strike as unfair and a stumbling block to the final year examinations. William Kayizi, a member on the Bunaka Primary School management committee says the strike has coincided with the opening of third term, which is crucial for the learners who have to write their promotional exams.
The parliamentary committee on education and sports has said it will not approve the appropriation of the 5 billion shillings earmarked for Uganda National Teachers Union (Unatu) SACCO citing disorganization within the association. The 5 billion shillings was allocated to the teachers SACCO in the 2013/2014 budget.
