Ministry of Public Service Permanent Secretary Catherine Bitarakwate Musingwiire and Public Service Minister Wilson Muruli Mukasa
Catherine Bitarakwate Musingwiire, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Service, has revealed that secondary school arts teachers will start getting a salary of Shs4m monthly in 2026.
Starting this month, government has increased salaries of science teachers to Shs4m monthly for each graduate. This decision had angered arts teachers under the Uganda National Teachers’ Union (Unatu) who responded by going on strike protesting discriminatory salary enhancement.
But Unatu would later suspend the arts teachers’ strike after meeting President Yoweri Kaguta Tibuhaburwa Museveni and his wife, education and sports minister, Janet Kataaha Kainembabazi Museveni.
The suspension of the strike was expected to help Unatu keep in talks with government.
Days after the arts teachers called off their industrial action, Parliament returned from recess and passed a resolution urging government to review the salary increment to cater for both arts and science teachers.
Now, PS Bitarakwate has told the Human Rights of Committee of Parliament that arts teachers will start earning Shs4m like the science teachers by 2026.
This means that the arts teachers will have to wait for five years before getting to the level of their science counterparts.
Appearing before the same committee, the Minister of Public Service, Wilson Muruuli Mukasa, revealed that out of the Shs800bn that was needed for teachers’ salary enhancement, government had only secured Shs200bn.
The shocking revelations by the public service minister’s and Permanent Secretary come days after Museveni’s government, through the Ministry of Finance, made it clear that will not entertain supplementary budgets to increase salaries. (Read Story Here).
It should be remembered that a number of MPs had openly told government to process a supplementary budget to increase arts teachers’ salaries or equally divide the available funds between both arts and science teachers. (Read Story Here).
In order to improve service delivery and end the challenge of strikes over low pay, President Museveni’s government has proposed huge salary increments for teachers, doctors and other employees starting July 2022. (Read Story Here)
The proposed increments left many people wondering if government will really fulfill this pledge and increase salaries by very high amounts.
For example, opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye has argued that the promise of salary increment is just ‘another lie.’ (Read Story Here).
Finance Minister Matia Kasaija said the money for increasing teachers’, doctors’ and other civil servants’ salaries was available. (Read Story Here).
In August 2021, cabinet approved salary increment for teachers, doctors and other health workers. (Read Story Here).
See the salary structure that had been proposed for the 2021-2022 financial year here.
Meanwhile, an NRM MP angered teachers after telling them they are too poor to go on strike. (Read Story Here).
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