By Godfrey Kimono

THE Government, through the Education Service Commission, has embarked on a recruitment exercise to fill over 4,000 vacant posts in different schools and institutions across the country.

The recruitment will be done in the financial year ending June 2011.

Dr. Geoffrey Mbabazi, the secretary to the commission, said those to be recruited are teachers, head teachers, deputy head teachers and non-teaching staff like bursars, workshop attendants and laboratory attendants.

“We have undertaken new recruitment strategies. These include the school hard-to-reach and hard-to-stay programme, setting up regional recruitment centres in districts with priority being given to area residents,” he said.

Mbabazi made the remarks during a swearing in ceremony of three members of the commission. The ceremony was presided over by the Chief Justice Benjamin Odoki at the High Court in Kampala.

Mbabazi also said the commission had on Monday dispatched teams to Mbarara, Gulu and Mbale to coordinate with the regional commission officers to start the recruitment exercise.

“The commission, with the help of its field officers from the districts, senior schools and institution administrators, will ensure there is qualified and relevant human resource to spur the country to achieve its development goals,” he said.

Mbabazi added that the teachers to be recruited were to cater for the increasing number of students.

“We aim at taking services nearer to the consumers through training identified people into the recruitment process and ensure transparency and fairness in the exercise across the country,” he noted.

Mbabazi also said in addition to the recruitment, over 1,000 secondary school teachers were to be promoted from grade five (diploma level) to graduate level basing on attained qualifications and experience. Their salaries would also be raised, he note.

“Other teachers will be promoted to senior level depending on their period of service. Raising their salaries is to motivate them work and deliver quality services,” he disclosed.

Mbabazi, however, said the promotions were pending clearance from the public service ministry as the promoted teachers’ salaries had to be raised.

Those sworn in were Haji Badru Lubega, the chairperson of the commission. He will be deputised by Dr. Jane Mulemwa and Mathew Okot Garimoi.

Other members on the commission are Dr. Geoffrey Mbabazi, the secretary, Edina Baryaruha, Dr. Froehlich Kajubiri, Oliga Olupot and Al Haji Abdullah Wangubo.

Lubega said the commission was undergoing gradual transformation, including creation of an electronic data management system for all in-service teaching personnel to meet the demands and expectations in the education service.

“The commission is also developing a scheme for the teaching service to facilitate the promotion of teachers. Teachers will be promoted from education assistants to senior education assistants basing on their qualifications,” Lubega disclosed.

He also said the commission would introduce the rank of principle education assistant as a way of motivating teachers, with the expectation of improving the performance of students.

Lubega said the commission was charged with disciplining personnel in the education service to develop and sustain their quality.