Bitamazire warns teachers who reject transfer to rural schools

Apr 24, 2007

TEACHERS who fail to go to the rural schools where they are posted will have their appointments cancelled, the education minister, Namirembe Bitamazire has warned.

By Raymond Baguma
TEACHERS who fail to go to the rural schools where they are posted will have their appointments cancelled, the education minister, Namirembe Bitamazire has warned.

She said about 50% of the 2,000 teachers recruited this year have not reported to the secondary schools where they were posted.

“Those who feel they cannot go to rural areas should quit so that we recruit others who want to serve. We know there is a housing problem in those areas, but we are asking head teachers to look for accommodation.”

Bitamazire was responding to a complaint raised by the Kiruhura district chairman, Phillip Kamugungunu, over the shortage of teachers in the district.

The minister was touring Government-aided and private secondary schools in the district on Friday to assess the progress in the implementation of the Universal Secondary Education programme.

Bitamazire explained that the ministry had directed the Education Service Commission to recruit teachers who are not on the payroll but are already serving in rural schools so that they can be included on the Government payroll.

“Teachers who do not want to work in rural areas will wait for the next recruitment and those who qualify shall be appointed.”

Kamugungunu cited Rwemikoma Seed Secondary School which has only one teacher, who teaches English and Mathematics yet 21 teachers have been posted to the school.

“All the nine Government-aided secondary schools in the district should have 260 teachers. But there are 177 teaching vacancies. The teachers want to teach in Bushenyi, Wakiso, and Mbarara, but when they are posted to Rwemikoma, they refuse.”

Works minister John Nasasira, who accompanied Bitamazire, said the district emerged the eighth in the country in last year’s Primary Leaving Examinations and there was need to provide good secondary education for the students.

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