First lady and education minister Janet Kainembabazi Kataaha Museveni has told striking secondary school arts teachers that there are over 30,000 teachers who are ready to take up their jobs once government fires those engaged in the ongoing industrial action.
For a fortnight now, secondary school arts and primary school teachers have ignored calls on them to return to class, keeping their push for equal salary increment with their science colleagues.
Uganda National Teachers’ Union (Unatu), the umbrella body for all teachers in the country, has insisted that teachers of science subjects are not scientists and should therefore not be given preferential treatment compared to their colleagues facilitating learning in the humanities.
There have been threats from government to teachers, with Public Service Ministry Permanent Secretary Catherine Bitarakwate Musingwiire warning on June 22, that those who refuse to return to class by June 24 will be deleted from the payroll starting June 30.
Now, according to Ms Museveni, there are many unemployed teachers who are unemployed and would willing celebrate if they landed a government job for which they are paid the money that those currently striking think is little.
The education minister gave an example of a recent recruitment exercise where over 30,000 desperate teachers applied to be included on the government payroll, only for Museveni only 10 per cent of this number to be shortlisted.
“If they are to help themselves, they should return to class with immediate effect because recently, when the Education Service Commission was conducting interviews, about 30,000 teachers applied and only 3,000 were shortlisted, meaning that there are many teachers on the streets and it is possible others can be recruited when they remain defiant,” Janet Museveni was quoted as saying during the launch of the Parish Development Model in Ntungamo.
The Education Service Commission (ESC) recently conducted interviews for thousands of teachers who applied for government payroll jobs as education officers and assistant education officers. (See Names of 6,400 teachers shortlisted for History and Geography Jobs HERE).
MORE LISTS OF TEACHERS WHO HAVE BEEN GIVEN GOVERNMENT PAYROLL JOBS OR SHORTLISTED RECENTLY
You can find the list of teachers shortlisted for government payroll jobs at the Mbarara, Arua, Mbale and Gulu Centres Here.
FULL LIST: Government Hires 2,900 Teachers
FULL LIST: See Names of Teachers Shortlisted for Deputy Headteacher Jobs on Government Payroll
FULL LIST: See Names of Teachers Shortlisted for Government Payroll Jobs for the Kampala Centre
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