Empty classrooms in Iganga as Teachers’ strike enters day two

Iganga, Uganda: Learners in Iganga Municipality and across the district have been forced to stay home as the nationwide teachers’ industrial action entered its second day, leaving classrooms deserted and parents worried about the fate of the third term.

The strike was declared by Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU) Secretary General Filbert Baguma Bates in a September 11 letter to stakeholders, demanding salary enhancements that government promised in 2022 but has yet to implement.

At Iganga Municipal Council Primary School, headteacher Ms. Kalembe Lucy told DailyExpress that pupils who had reported for classes were left unattended and later returned home. “You can see what is happening. Pupils came in the morning to resume term three studies but later went back home because there was no teacher to attend to them,” Ms. Kalembe said.

Similar scenes were reported at Kasokoso Primary School, Iganga Noor Islamic Primary School, and Igamba Primary School. At Igamba, administrators struggled to handle classes before pupils dispersed due to overwhelming numbers.

“The situation is not good because teachers have decided to remain home. We tried teaching some lessons in the morning but couldn’t cover everything. Pupils later returned home,” one administrator said.

Mr. Sengendo Johnson, the UNATU Iganga district chairperson, confirmed that most schools in Nakigo, Nakalama, and Bulamagi sub-counties had no teachers present. “Our aim is not to fight government but to seek equity in salary enhancement. Teachers must remain home until a resolution is reached after engagement with the center,” he said.

UNATU Iganga secretary Mr. George Kakaire urged teachers to find alternative income sources while the strike continues and advised parents to keep children at home until communication from the union’s national leadership overturns the current directive.

Mr. Baguma noted that repeated engagements with the government, including written requests for meetings with the President’s office, the Head of Public Service, and formal communication to the ministries of Public Service and Education, had fallen on deaf ears.

He added that appeals to the Equal Opportunities Commission had also yielded no results. “Fellow teachers, this is a moment of truth. We must ask ourselves, how much longer will we wait? The answer is clear: if you are unhappy, let the empty classrooms speak for us. Let our absences from school compounds be louder than the excuses of government,” he told teachers.

However, the Ministry of Education and Sports urged UNATU to abandon the strike, saying their concerns were already being addressed, with Ministry spokesperson Mr. Dennis Mugimba advising patience over the matter.

“They met with the President the other month, and the message remains the same. What the President promised the other group applies to them. I encourage them to be patient and wait for the Presidential directive to be implemented,” Mugimba said.

Salary disparity

Currently, an Arts teacher with a degree qualification earns a gross pay of Shs1,078,162 monthly (net Shs841,931), while a Science teacher with the same qualification earns Shs4 million gross (net Shs2,858,000). Similarly, an Arts teacher with a diploma earns Shs784,214 gross (net Shs639,108), compared to their science counterparts who earn Shs2.2 million gross (net Shs1,616,000).