Sh50b for lecturers' pay rise

By Taddeo Bwambale

A university Professor at any of Uganda’s public universities will now earn a salary of sh6.3m, up from sh4.1m, effective July this year.

This was after Government allocated sh50b in the 2015/2016 national budget to cater for the increase of salaries for lecturers in all public universities.

Uganda has seven public universities that include Makerere, Kyambogo, Gulu, Busitema, Muni and Mbarara. Details on the pay for lower rank lecturers were not released.

Dr Muhammed Kiggundu, the chairperson of Makerere University Academic Staff Association, which has been agitating for better pay, welcomed the pay raise but said more was expected.

President Yoweri Museveni being welcomed by Vice President Edward Ssekandi, Speaker Rebecca Kadaga, Clerk to Parliament Jane Kibirige. PHOTO/Enock Kakande 



“We agreed with the President that the salary for academic staff would be increased in bits each financial year. This is a big achievement for me as a negotiator,” Kiggundu told New Vision.  

In August last year, President Yoweri Museveni pledged to raise the gross salary of a university professor, the highest paid academic to sh15m, starting in the 2015/2016 financial year.

Under the new structure, a teaching assistant, the lowest paid academic will eventually earn sh2.5m.

In January, the President directed the ministry of finance to apportion money to cater for a pay raise for academic staff starting with the new financial year.

Over the last five months, the education ministry and university lecturers’ representatives have been consulting on the development of a comprehensive salary structure.

For many years, low pay has forced many lecturers to flee public universities in Uganda. In 2011 alone, Makerere lost 25 high-profile lecturers alone, which threatened some programmes.

During the same period, Mbarara University lost 20 lecturers while Gulu reportedly lost about 10 senior lecturers.   

A 2012 Auditor General's report shows highlights the need for up to 3,000 lecturers and other academic officials to match the rising student numbers in public universities.