President Museveni has said government requires 300000 teachers to cater for the 15 million kids in school, but has no money to meet this obligation.
“When we closed schools during Corona, the number of learners who were sent home were 15 million. If you take the ratio of 50 learners per teacher, that means we need 300,000 teachers for 15 million children but now we are not able to hire them,” he said.
Museveni however, said with his government’s clear intentions and prioritization, the economy is growing and inflation is low, a situation that will gradually trigger payment of all the public servants handsomely and also increase on their numbers.
Officiating at the World Teachers Day celebrations at Lugogo cricket oval under the theme: ‘Valuing Teachers’ Voices A New Social Contract for Education’, Museveni assured all teachers in public service that the government will enhance their salaries but in a PHASED manner.
He explained that due to effective planning and prioritising, the government started with the enhancement of salaries of science teachers, but the arts teachers will also be worked on.
“We should start with something that would get us to a higher level. For example, the availability of electricity will mean more factories and more businesses and that means more taxes and so on.”
Museveni informed the teachers that his NRM government came into power at a time when the economy of Uganda had collapsed and it had a task to revive and expand it through diversification and introducing a new economy of knowledge.
He said on top of that task, the government needs money to support social services like health and education.
“We had multiple tasks, first of all we were trying to make the economy recover from collapse and expand it. At the same time, we have got the other task of not just dealing with a small number of learners but dealing with a large group of learners. If we dealt with the small group, we would have a few teachers to teach them and they could be paid very well. A few teachers to teach a few but what would be the impact on the country?” he wondered.
The President added that due to the idea of prioritising mass education, in spite of all the problems the country has, the literacy rate has gone from 43 percent to 76 percent now.
“Those who were laughing at our strategy, now you see? Everything we do is mass because we try to empower everybody; Mass education, mass immunisation, security for all to bring peace in the whole country.”
He assured the teachers that the government will examine the issue of a holiday for Teachers Day. Museveni used the occasion to make good on his earlier pledge of Shs20 billion to support the three National Teachers Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations (SACCOs).
This follows a pledge he made during last year’s World Teachers’ Day celebrations on October 5, 2023.The funds, directed to the SACCOs, are expected to provide much-needed financial support to teachers, particularly in rural areas, where access to affordable credit has been limited.
President Museveni expressed gratitude to Ireland for its continuous support to Uganda, particularly in the education sector.
“I want to thank Ireland, they are very good friends, always helping sincerely, and their teachers are doing a great job,” he added.
Meanwhile, his wife also Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni commended the teachers for nurturing humanity through education. She also thanked President Museveni for always supporting the education and Sports sector.
“Your unwavering commitment to selfless service of our homeland is truly inspiring and we deeply appreciate your continued support for the teachers fraternity,” Maama Janet noted.
The First Lady also lauded the teachers for the perseverance that has enabled them to contribute to the socio-economic transformation of Uganda.
“In an era that continues to press increasing demands on the teacher, some have opted to exit the practice of this noble profession. On the other hand, some teachers have chosen to adapt to the dynamic context of the profession but on a day such as this, we recognize the contribution by both past and present teachers with this hope that a new generation of teachers is also rising to carry on with the noble call,” she said. The function was also attended by education state ministers among other dignitaries.
