Ministry to look into teachers’ salaries
Jul 19, 2011
THE education ministry has agreed to look into the concerns of teachers, ministry officials have said.
By Catherine Bekunda and Moses Walubiri
THE education ministry has agreed to look into the concerns of teachers, ministry officials have said.
Teachers, through their association, the Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU), have threatened to lay down their tools on July 27 if the Government does not meet their demands.
They want the least-paid teacher to earn sh546,000.
Education ministry spokesperson Aggrey Kibenge said officials from the public service ministry held a meeting with UNATU members and agreed to consider their demands.
“We appreciate the concerns raised by UNATU with regard to the need by the Government to operationalise the collective bargaining agreement as a mechanism to address grievances in unions,†Kibenge said.
He said the Government, through the public service ministry, would look into the remuneration of teachers in respect of wages, allowances paid to officers in hard-to-reach areas and scientists (including teachers).
The ministry, he added, would also review the threshold for Pay As You Earn (PAYE), bearing in mind the low wages earned by teachers.
MPs want the PAYE threshold increased from the current sh130,000 to sh300,000.
Kibenge said the meeting left all stakeholders optimistic that the concerns raised by UNATU would be addressed by July 27.
The increment in teachers’ salaries will cost about one trillion shillings per year if the Government honours their demands.
With about 152,682 teachers on the Government payroll in primary and secondary schools, salaries will almost take up the entire education ministry budget, which currently stands at sh1.4 trillion.
Former UNATU vice-president Joseph Ssewungu, who is also the MP for Kalungu West, told journalists at Parliament yesterday that teachers have continued to offer quality services, despite operating in difficult conditions. In a breakdown of the sh546,000 salary, Ssewungu said on average, a teacher spends sh240,000 on food, sh50,000 on transport and sh95,000 on housing per month.
Other expenditures include sh12,000 on water, sh120,000 on school fees, sh10,000 on clothing and sh20,000 on medical fees.
He, however, noted that this is the minimum a teacher can spend, but many spend more than this.
Currently, a primary school teacher earns sh260,000 on average per month, while secondary schools teachers get about sh450,000.
Tutors in primary teachers’ colleges earn sh350,000, while those in national teachers’ colleges receive an average of sh500,000 per month.
Uganda’s inflation rate, currently at 16%, has pushed up the cost of commodities, especially foodstuffs.
“The Government should remit realistic grants to schools under the universal primary and secondary education to enable administrators work in a favourable environment,†Ssewungu said.
USE and UPE schools have often complained of late remittances of funds by the Government.
UNATU’s welfare and dispute officer Raphael Kisekka said Uganda is losing teachers to petty jobs like bodaboda and private security firms due to poor pay and lack of motivation.
Others, he added, had moved to neighbouring countries like Rwanda.
The exodus, according to Ssewungu, had increased the teacher-pupil ratio, which has adversely affected the quality of UPE and USE.
“Why should a teacher earn sh7,500 a day, yet a casual labourer at a construction site in Kampala can be paid sh10,000?†he asked.
THE education ministry has agreed to look into the concerns of teachers, ministry officials have said.
Teachers, through their association, the Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU), have threatened to lay down their tools on July 27 if the Government does not meet their demands.
They want the least-paid teacher to earn sh546,000.
Education ministry spokesperson Aggrey Kibenge said officials from the public service ministry held a meeting with UNATU members and agreed to consider their demands.
“We appreciate the concerns raised by UNATU with regard to the need by the Government to operationalise the collective bargaining agreement as a mechanism to address grievances in unions,†Kibenge said.
He said the Government, through the public service ministry, would look into the remuneration of teachers in respect of wages, allowances paid to officers in hard-to-reach areas and scientists (including teachers).
The ministry, he added, would also review the threshold for Pay As You Earn (PAYE), bearing in mind the low wages earned by teachers.
MPs want the PAYE threshold increased from the current sh130,000 to sh300,000.
Kibenge said the meeting left all stakeholders optimistic that the concerns raised by UNATU would be addressed by July 27.
The increment in teachers’ salaries will cost about one trillion shillings per year if the Government honours their demands.
With about 152,682 teachers on the Government payroll in primary and secondary schools, salaries will almost take up the entire education ministry budget, which currently stands at sh1.4 trillion.
Former UNATU vice-president Joseph Ssewungu, who is also the MP for Kalungu West, told journalists at Parliament yesterday that teachers have continued to offer quality services, despite operating in difficult conditions. In a breakdown of the sh546,000 salary, Ssewungu said on average, a teacher spends sh240,000 on food, sh50,000 on transport and sh95,000 on housing per month.
Other expenditures include sh12,000 on water, sh120,000 on school fees, sh10,000 on clothing and sh20,000 on medical fees.
He, however, noted that this is the minimum a teacher can spend, but many spend more than this.
Currently, a primary school teacher earns sh260,000 on average per month, while secondary schools teachers get about sh450,000.
Tutors in primary teachers’ colleges earn sh350,000, while those in national teachers’ colleges receive an average of sh500,000 per month.
Uganda’s inflation rate, currently at 16%, has pushed up the cost of commodities, especially foodstuffs.
“The Government should remit realistic grants to schools under the universal primary and secondary education to enable administrators work in a favourable environment,†Ssewungu said.
USE and UPE schools have often complained of late remittances of funds by the Government.
UNATU’s welfare and dispute officer Raphael Kisekka said Uganda is losing teachers to petty jobs like bodaboda and private security firms due to poor pay and lack of motivation.
Others, he added, had moved to neighbouring countries like Rwanda.
The exodus, according to Ssewungu, had increased the teacher-pupil ratio, which has adversely affected the quality of UPE and USE.
“Why should a teacher earn sh7,500 a day, yet a casual labourer at a construction site in Kampala can be paid sh10,000?†he asked.