Emmanuel Olaro, the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, stated that the district is facing a deficit of around 600 teachers, with 54% of vacancies in primary schools and 55% in secondary schools. He explained that some teachers retired on medical grounds, while others transferred their services to other districts.
Despite celebrating impressive performances in the recently released Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) and Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) results on February 11, 2025, Katakwi district continues to face a significant shortage of teachers to manage its 78 government-aided schools.
The district, which has a staff ceiling of more than 1,037 teachers, currently has only 601 teachers catering to over 55,000 learners. Angela Atim Mudong, the Katakwi District Education Officer, reported that despite the efforts made to address the teacher shortage, including recent invitations extended to the Ministry of Public Service and the Ministry of Education by the Vice President, no solutions have been reached. She added that teachers are overwhelmed, frustrated, and stressed due to the excessive workload.
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Emmanuel Olaro, the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, stated that the district is facing a deficit of around 600 teachers, with 54% of vacancies in primary schools and 55% in secondary schools. He explained that some teachers retired on medical grounds, while others transferred their services to other districts.
As a result, the district struggles to provide adequate education services, with the teacher-to-pupil ratio standing at 1:91, compared to the national average of 1:45. Olaro mentioned that the district is finalizing its wage bill analysis.
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John Okot, the chairperson of UNATA Katakwi Branch, pointed out that more than seven schools are operating with fewer than six teachers running seven classrooms. He noted that 44 substantive headteachers, 53 deputy headteachers, and 18 senior education assistants are currently in place, but an additional 60 education assistants are needed.
He observed that this shortage of teachers is negatively impacting performance in both PLE and other national examinations, such as UCE and UACE. At St. John Kaikamosing Primary School, a community school in Ngariam Sub County established in 2019 under the Catholic Church, the teacher-pupil ratio is 1:50, with only 6 teachers catering to a student population of 400. Deputy Headteacher Esther Judith Apuuno stated that teachers are overwhelmed by the workload.
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Recently, Katakwi advertised teacher vacancies, and 274 teachers were successful after interviews conducted by the District Service Commission (DSC). However, the district has not yet issued appointments to these newly recruited teachers due to alleged recruitment irregularities.
The recruitment process exceeded the number of teachers initially cleared, and there is a wage discrepancy in Katakwi, which needs to be addressed before issuing the appointments. Geoffrey Omolo, the LC V Chairperson of Katakwi district, confirmed that they are following up with the relevant line ministries to ensure that the district recruits enough teachers to improve learning in schools.
He also stated that he has traveled to Kampala to meet the responsible authorities no less than 15 times, but there seems to be contradictory and uncoordinated information delaying progress.
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Rtd. Maj. Jessica Rose Alupo Epel, the Vice President, acknowledged the challenges faced by the education sector and assured that the government is committed to addressing the issue.
Emma Olinga
Freelancer