Salary raise for civil servants to take effect next financial year

The minister revealed this during a meeting with the Committee on Education and Sports on Tuesday, September 6, 2022 at Parliament, explaining that the discrepancy in pay for science and arts teachers, for example, was due to the limited wage bill for teachers' salaries under the Ministry of Education and Sports.

“Every year, MDAs and Local Governments submit their wage bill analysis. You can have a wish but if Ministry of Finance does not give you the money, you cannot recruit all the positions you intend to,” said the minister.

“We do not intend to create disparities. If we had the resources to pay, we would have paid everybody the same amount of money. But we are doing it in a phased manner,” said Mugasa.

The minister said that the Ministry of Public Service approved the structures for the Education Ministry, adding that recruitment and payment of salaries for the structures, entirely depend on the wage bill.

This announcement comes in the wake of complaints by Tororo District Woman MP, Hon. Sarah Opendi, about the exorbitant tuition and non-tuition fees charged by government-aided schools.

In the motion that Opendi moved, she prayed to Parliament that the government posts sufficient teaching and non-teaching staff to government grant-aided schools and pays their salaries and wages.

In response to some of the prayers in the Opendi petition, minister Mugasa told the committee that 5,400 Education Officers and Assistant Education Officers have been recruited, with 2,170 already deployed and 3,230 awaiting issuance of appointment letters and deployment.

She added that 1,700 officers were promoted to Education Officer, 160 to Senior Education Officer, 120 to Headteacher and 120 to Deputy Headteacher.

“Despite the constraints of the wage bill, government is committed to filling all vacant positions in post primary as well as primary schools,” the minister added.

Legislators on the committee tasked the Ministry of Public Service to expedite the establishment of the Salary Review Commission.

Hon. Jonathan Ebwalu (Indep., Soroti West Division) alluded to Minister Mugasa's commitment to the Public Accounts Committee that a committee to look into the salary disparities in the country would be set up.

“These are questions that need answers. Some of our teachers are opting to get out of class and go ride bodabodas because of the salary disparities. Education in this country is not getting a good face,” said Ebwalu.

The minister assured the committee that members to the Salary Review would soon be appointed to enable it to kickstart its work.