The Ministry of Public Service has responded to concerns that some of teachers posted to government primary and secondary schools take long to be included on the payroll so that they can be paid salaries.
When Members of Parliament on the Committee of Education and Sports interfaced with Grace Mugasa, the State Minister for Public Service on September 06, the issue of teachers sent to government to schools but not paid for their services for a long time, came up.
Arua District Woman MP Lilian Paparu Obiale of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) was concerned that some teachers who had been deployed to some schools owned and run by government had not been receiving salaries for many years.
“Some of them stay for nine or so years without getting their salary. Those are the teachers that get frustrated and at times do not enter the classrooms, yet it is the responsibility of Ministry of Public Service to put them on the payroll,” submitted MP Paparu.
Minister Mugasa admitted that this anomaly was indeed happening but the government was financially constrained.
She pledged that the Ministry of Public Service would include such teachers on the payroll and begin paying them salaries as soon as financial resources become available.
“We want to promise that if Ministry of Finance avails the money, we as the Ministry of Public Service are ready to put the teachers on the payroll,” said the minister.
It should be remembered that Museveni’s government recently hired about 3,000 secondary school teachers who are supposed to be included on the payroll. (See Their Names Here).
Also of concern to the Committee of Education and Sports was Museveni government’s decision to hugely increase the salaries of science teachers, leaving arts teachers cursing.
According to the new salary structure, science teachers earn more money that their headteachers and deputy headteachers, something which has made some school bosses threaten to resign if government does not pay them Shs6.5m every month. (Read Story Here).
See the new salary structure for the 2022-2023 Financial Year, showing how much each government employee category earns every month HERE.
