Teachers' strike: Kikuube LC5 chairperson pleads with school heads as 20 schools get science kits

HOIMA - Hoima district LC5 chairperson Uthman Mubarak Mugisha has urged headteachers in government-aided schools to continue engaging teachers in a bid to end the strike over salary disparities.

The strike, which began on September 15, 2025, involves arts teachers from primary, post-primary and other educational institutions across the country.

Mugisha says the headteachers should urge teachers to consider attending candidates' classes whose final national examinations are fast-approaching.

He made the call on Thursday, October 2, 2025, during the handover of practical science kits to 20 government-aided primary schools at the district headquarters in Kasingo cell in Hoima West Division, Hoima city. The kits were given to the 15 top-performing schools and the five under-performing ones.

The kits, including the male organ, heart, teeth, weighing scale, microscope, skeleton, kidney, respiratory system and test tubes, were offered by the education ministry in an effort to promote science in Primary school.

Uthaman said while the Government is engaging the Uganda National Teachers' Union (UNATU) on their salary increment issues, teachers should bear in mind that Primary Seven, Senior Four and Senior Six candidates are set to sit for their final exams, and they need more attention at this critical point.

He fears that the continued industrial action is likely to plunge the academic performance to lower levels as teachers who do not consider the candidates' classes.

The Government's stand

Public Service Minister Muruli Mukasa, on October 1, 2025, informed Parliament that the Government cannot meet the demands of striking teachers for salary increases due to severe budget constraints.

Mukasa was speaking before the House committee on local government during discussions on the Human Resource Management Professionals Bill, 2025.

Mukasa revealed that Uganda funds only 31% of its national budget domestically, with the remainder reliant on loans and grants from development partners.

“The teachers rejected our advice and continued the strike. We engaged the humanities and arts teachers’ unions, who agreed not to strike. Currently, we raise just 31% of our budget domestically. The rest comes from loans and partners, showing how vulnerable we are. We’ve agreed internally not to borrow for salaries; they must come from domestic revenue, capped at 35%,” Mukasa said.

Teachers given deadline

Striking teachers at government-aided schools have up to next week to report for duty or be deleted from the payroll, according to the public service ministry. 

Those who will not report on duty in the next seven days will be considered to have abandoned duty, which confirms grounds for deletion from the payroll.

Speaking to the media at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala on October 2, Mukasa asked striking teachers and local government workers to resume duty within a week or resign to pave the way for fresh recruitments. 

The minister described the continued strike as a “breach of trust” by teachers and local government officials.

Currently, there are 368,291 civil servants on the government payroll, and teachers form the biggest percentage of this figure. As of July 2024, a total of 125,276 civil servants have had their salaries enhanced.