Parliament has approved a recommendation by the Parliamentary Education Committee to halt the salary increment of science teachers stating that the move was discriminatory against Arts teachers.
The Parliamentary Committee on Education and Sports chaired by Mbale Woman MP, Connie Nakayenze Galiwango made the recomendation Wednesday while presenting a committee report on the Ministerial policy statement.
The committee recommended that the proposed salary increment of Science teachers to Shs 1.9 million shillings against Shs 600,000 per Arts teacher in the financial year 2018/19 be put on halt.
MPS rejected the increment of Science teachers after the Minister of Public Service, Wilson Muruli Mukasa pleaded with the Commitees to allow the pay and failed.
Mukasa had asked MPS to consider increment for salaries of Science teachers on the basis that Sciences form the foundation for any society to develop.
“The consideration of Science teachers is not a discrimination but a realization of the strategic nature of science, and we need it for our development,” Muluri said.
The Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga implored government to find a solution to teachers pay rise without discrimination.
In its report, the Committee recommended that government considers harmonization of remuneration for both the Arts and Science teachers through wide consultations with the concerned stakeholders before effecting the proposal.
Instead, the report suggests that the amount that was intended to go towards enhancement of the Science teachers salaries be used to recruit the 2,000 Science teachers so that the schools without any teachers in the science subjects can be supported.
“The amount allocated towards enhancement of science teachers’ salaries should be used to recruit the 2,000 science teachers so that other schools who are short of these teachers can be supported,” Nakayenze emphasized.
The Committee calls for the Ministry of Education and Sports together with the Ministry of Finance to harmonize the salary structure in all Public universities and stop the commissioning of new Universities until funds are got for full payment of the University staff salaries.
They also asked the Ministry of Finance to provide for the Shs 105 billion shortfall in the salaries of public universities to avert unrest at the Universities.
At the beginning of this month, while presiding over Labour Day celebrations, President Yoweri Museveni justified government’s position to raise the salaries of scientists and science teachers in the public sector which he said had more to do with the rate of retention.
“If a history teacher goes away, it is easy to replace him than a Science teacher. Therefore, in terms of retention of the people, we are more desperate to retain Scientists of the government than the other categories,” he said.
He lambasted some of the headteachers who have since protested the upward revision of salaries of teachers claiming that it was unfair for a teacher to get a higher pay than a head teacher.
In the report tabled Wednesday, Committee members also proposed that resources allocated for the higher education students sponsorships including that of State House to be sent to the Higher Education Students Financing Board for equal consideration of all Ugandan students.