There is a ray of hope for arts teachers as they are set to earn Shs3.5m every month starting July 2026 – that is if everything goes according to plan as agreed by officials at the ministries of public service and finance.
The increment would come as relief for arts teachers who have been waiting for government to correct a salary disparity with their science counterparts who have been pocketing Shs4m every month since 2022.
Arts teachers are some of the categories of government employees (public servants) who are expected to benefit from a Shs750bn package meant for raising salaries starting July 2026, that is at the beginning of the 2026-2027 financial year.
Government is also expected to earmark the same amount for the next three financial years. Once the money is captured in the next financial year’s budget, arts teachers will enjoy their enhanced salaries.
Those who will be getting the Shs3.5m every month will be graduate arts teachers.
It should be remembered that in July 2022, the government substantially increased salaries for science teachers, raising pay for science degree holders from Shs1.2 million to about Shs4 million.
However, arts teachers with the same qualifications were earning between Shs900,000 and Shs960,000, creating a pay gap of over four times, which sparked protests among the arts teaching community.
The ministries of education, public service and finance are expected to release official and revised salary structures capturing the increments if a final decision is taken.
It should be remembered that last year, government agreed to partially raise salaries of arts teachers and to also offer their children free university education in coming years.
You can see the current salary structure showing how much each category of government employees earns every month Here.
The lists of most highly paid government paid employees are Here and There.
The salary increment for arts teachers is expected to increase competition for the jobs for which reports have previously suggested that Education Service Commission officials were selling each each job for a few millions, as reported Here.
