Teachers to get 50% pay raise

In the run-up to the budget, sunday vision will conduct evaluative interviews on the achievements, challenges and future plans of the various ministries. moses mulondo interviewed the education minister jessica alupo

what are your major achievements this financial year?

We intensified our efforts to improve the quality of education at all levels. secondly, as a country, we have managed to review the curriculum, especially at the lower levels. We managed to implement the thematic curriculum from p1 to
P3 where children are taught in their local languages. We were also able to train teachers in science-related disciplines like computer skills and maths to promote science education.

We have also been working on the implementation of free education at a’level. At that stage, we have completed the full circle of providing free education to Ugandans from primary to a’level. There are slightly over 800 students who have benefited from this scheme.

We have also started working on the necessary legal measures for implementing the students’ loan scheme. The task force has come up with guiding principles.

When is the loan scheme likely to start?

It is likely to begin in the 2013/2014 financial year because we still have to formulate the policy.

Any challenges you have faced...?
Inadequate staff. We are not fully constituted. The staff we have at the headquarters is not enough. This affects the speed at which services are delivered. We are operating at between 60% and 70% capacity.

Universities and tertiary institutions as well as primary and secondary schools are operating below capacity. The other major challenge is graduates from institutions of higher learning who are not able to translate what they learnt into jobs. Many of them are found to be wanting once they get jobs. our labour force is wanting when it comes to practical skills.

But doesn’t your argument contradict what is usually said of uganda’s education system as the best in east africa?

It is true that Uganda’s education system is the best in east Africa. I have personally researched it and found it to be true and many other researchers have come to the same conclusion. That is why we have so many students from the region coming to our schools and universities. We only have to make it more practical. We have to go the extra mile to address the market demands and our attitude towards work.

What are some of your plans for the next financial year?
Most of the projects we shall focus on are already ongoing. But we have muni university in west Nile and Soroti University in the pipeline. In the next financial year, we also want to give attention to trainers of teachers. We want to equip the trainers with more skills so they can produce teachers who are more practical.

What are you doing to combat the brain drain of Uganda’s professionals?
That is another big challenge. So many of our lecturers, teachers, nurses and doctors are going away to other countries for better pay. But the government has also decided to address it as an opportunity we need to be proud of. We want to put in place measures to train as many such professionals as we can export some to other countries. The government is also trying to enhance the remuneration of teachers at all levels; trying to use a holistic approach by empowering teachers in hard to reach areas with additional allowances.

How are you planning to use Uganda’s comparative advantage in the great lakes region to create more revenue for the country?
We shall continue maintaining and improving the quality of our education so we can continue to attract foreign students. We plan to produce more competent Professionals and export some to the countries around us. South Sudan, Rwanda and Burundi need teachers, especially of English.

we also plan to sign a memorandum of understanding with Ethiopia to exchange training programmes. We shall continue to position ourselves as the best education provider in the region.

How far have the investigations into the corruption in the use/use scheme gone?
The commission of inquiry was set up in 2008 and it is progressing well. they have promised to have the final report by august. At what stage is the project of equipping Ugandans with practical skills?

The skilling Uganda strategic plan from 2012 to 2022 was passed by cabinet about four months ago and now it is upon our ministry to implement it. One of the key areas is to ensure accessibility to business technical education and vocational
training (btvet) to as many Ugandans as possible.

We are aiming at equitable distribution of these institutions across the country. We also intend to revamp the current btvet institutions so that they can euip their students with more practical skills.

We believe this is the right time to address the issue of productivity. we want our graduates to be more productive and job creators. we also want to equip them with modern technology because some of the equipment they use is outdated.

Why has it taken the government so long to do it?
Currently, only 4% of our budget has been going to btvet education, yet it is one of the best ways of fighting unemployment. Cabinet has given us a go ahead to compare how other countries have been able to promote technical education.
An inter-ministerial committee has been constituted to produce a researched report which will be given to the president, who will add some of his own ideas.

When will you begin implementing the skilling Uganda programme?
We are planning to launch it in august. The inter-ministerial committee is supposed to produce a report early this month to guide the president on how to implement the project.

How much money has been earmarked to the project?
Sh160b will be allocated every financial year for 10 year. This project will greatly curb the problem of unemployment. We plan to solicit for more funds from the development partners and other sources to boost it.

Will it necessitate creation of a new institution?
We are trying to create an authority which is still awaiting approval from cabinet. We think it is important to have a skills development authority to implement all the activities effectively.

What are some of the initiatives you have introduced in the ministry for better service delivery?
When i first came here, i worked with the technical people to pass a policy (the client charter) defining the roles and responsibilities of the various staff to guide us on how to smoothly operate. i ensured that more emphasis be put on ensuring that the products of our education sector have practical skills to create jobs to minimise unemployment.

The technical people told me practical training in schools is lacking because of finances. i proposed that we begin implementing it in phases, beginning with comprehensive schools which are supposed to provide holistic education and impart practical skills.

I also ensured that sports is promoted as a career and because of that we have identified 32 schools which we shall fund as centers of excellence in the next financial year.

What is your planned budget for the next financial year?
The ministry of finance has kept changing it, but the latest approval is for about sh1.3trillion.

That is above what you were allocated in this financial year and, therefore, deflates earlier fears that the ministry’s budget would be reduced?
Yes. Given the various projects we are implementing, we need more money. The other justification is that we shall put aside more money for the teachers’ wage bill.

Many senior citizens, moralists, cultural leaders and religious leaders have always raised concern over the fact that Uganda’s curriculum is not inculcating the much needed moral values in the students. Do you have any plans in that direction?

It is true that the aspect of moral values is not incorporated in our curriculum. Throughout my education, i don’t remember answering any question on moral values, but i think that should begin at home — as a parent’s responsibility.

i think teachers just need to be reminded to incorporate it in their teaching. as a ministry, we can see how to mainstream it.

What do you want to be remembered for?
I want to be remembered for giving students the necessary skills required in the labor market. i want to see students empowered with practical skills to become job creators. That is why my greatest interest is on the project of skilling Uganda with practical skills.

More money for teachers last year, teachers across the country laid down their tools demanding a salary increment to cope with the high cost of living.

How much salary increment are you giving them in the next financial year?

The teachers had asked for a 100% salary increment. i want to thank those teachers because they accepted to talk to the government through an interministerial committee which the prime minister constituted.

We eventually agreed that their salaries would be increased by 15% in the next financial year and in the 2013/2014 financial year, we shall further increase their salary by 20% and in the 2014/2015 financial year, their salaries will be increased again by 15%.

This means at the end of the next three years, the remuneration of teachers will have been increased by 50%. But we also want the teachers to consider the state of our economy. We also intend to pay science teachers additional allowances.

How can we improve uganda’s education sector?
Andrew Kyalisiima, Nsambya i advise the government to provide the necessary facilities, including food for UPE/ use so that the students can concentrate on their studies.

The government should also fight poverty so that parents can offer support to their children regarding their education needs like books.

Alex Mugisha, Mbuya
The government should set up state enterprises to create jobs for the thousands of graduates churned out of universities. Otherwise, education is now becoming meaningless when many complete and fail to get jobs. A big number of educated
Ugandans are unemployed and others are in disguised unemployment.

Vincent Wanyama, Naguru
The government should ensure that every sub-county has a technical institute to equip Ugandans with technical skills to create jobs for themselves. Many of us in Kampala are gambling with life, with no useful practical skills. This trend must change.

Judith Akello,(shadow minister for education and woman MP for Agago district
The policies in the ministry need to be revised, for instance inspection of schools which is vital in ensuring quality education. The government should also come up with measures to control the drop-out rate of the girl child, especially in rural areas.

We are also disappointed that it has taken long to raise the remuneration of teachers to match the current high cost of living. That should be addressed in the next financial year.

Sarah Kisakye, Bweyogerere
The government did well to introduce ICT at A ‘level because that will put Uganda’s technology at the same level with many other countries. However, i think the government should avail free internet accessibility to all Ugandans as Rwanda has done. This will promote our education sector as more people will be able to study online and do online research.

Josephine Kasumba, Luzira
The government should convene a meeting with various stakeholders to come up with measures to address unemployment. it is no longer sensible for a parent to sacrifice and educate his child up to university yet there are no jobs. They should also increase teachers’ salaries and improve the quality of free education.

Alex Kasimo, Kireka
Teachers’ salaries should be increased to motivate them and make them committed to teaching. The government should also provide food to pupils. You cannot effectively study on an empty stomach. The government should also come up with a career guidance programme to guide students to do courses which are marketable. i hear our doctors are on demand abroad, why doesn’t the government sponsor more Ugandans to do medicine?