Uganda’s Ministry of Education and Sports says it is aware that corruption, bribery and nepotism have marred the recruitment of teachers and headteachers under the World Bank-funded Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers (UglFT) Program.
Peter Ogwang, Minister of State for Sports, represented the first lady Janet Museveni-led ministry in presenting a statement on the recruitment of teaching and Non-Teaching Staff in Secondary Schools under the project on November 27.
“It has come to the attention of Government that the recruitment process has been infiltrated by corrupt tendencies and opportunism. The Ministry and the Education service Commission has received credible information of irregular/secondment of staff to these schools with the view that their appointments shall be regularized by the Education Service Commission,” noted Minister Ogwang.
“This was being done on condition that prospective teachers pay hefty sums of money to be included on the list of sitting teachers.”
There were also concerns that a number of the Head Teachers and Deputy Head teachers recruited in seed schools under the World Bank-funded program lacked the requisite qualifications and were underperforming.
“The sector has noted with concern that the quality of headteachers and Deputies who have been recruited through the school based leaves a lot to be desired. These Headteachers are transferable to the already existing schools and they lack capacity to manage schools,” he noted. “A number of complaints were received by the Ministry of Education and the Education Service Commission from some Chief Administrative Officers and the actual sitting teachers that have been left out of the lists submitted because they don’t come from the regions even after serving in these schools for long.”
Here is what else the minister said on irregularities in recruitment of teachers, deputy head teachers and head teachers under the program:
About UgIFT Seed Schools Program
The Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers (UgIFT) Program was established in 2017 with an objective of improving the adequacy, equity and effectiveness of financing and the oversight, management and delivery of Local Government services including refugees and their host communities in Education, Health, Water and Environment.
The Ministry of Education and Sports with support from the World Bank is implementing Ugift with a mandate to construct a number of secondary schools across the country. The First phase of Ugift has 117 seed schools constructed and commissioned. On 28th December 2021, the Ministry of Education and Sports constructed and commissioned the first Ugift Seed School called Keihangara Seed Secondary School in Ibanda District. To date, a total of 117 seed schools were commissioned country wide and currently operational with teaching and non-teaching staff recruited under the first phase of the Ugift in the Education and Sports sector.
A total of 115 were under construction in the second phase and 27 in the third phase. A total of 92 Seed Schools under Phase 2, however, have been identified to start operating and this Ministry together with the Education Service Commission was tasked with the responsibility of recruiting and deploying staff in these schools.
As you are aware, Government has a Policy of providing a secondary school in each Sub-County under the two tire system (Grant aiding an already existing Private or Community Secondary School or constructing a Seed School).
On the difference between a Grant Aided secondary schools and a Seed School
Newly Grant Aided secondary schools are already operational, registered and licensed community or religious founded schools which apply to Government for grant aiding (These are schools where Government recruits sitting teachers because the schools are already operational and privately owned), Government recently grant aided forty six (46) secondary schools and the staff of these schools were recruited through school based.
Seed schools are supposed to be new schools that Government builds in the land provided by the Local Governments. The 92 Seed Schools in question are newly constructed and are World Bank funded.
In 2020, because of the challenges of people becoming opportunistic and starting schools where seed schools are going to be constructed or near those sites and taking advantage of teachers; the Ministry of Education and Sports issued a Circular Standing Instruction No.4 of 2020 cautioning Local Governments leaders not to recruit staff in these schools since they were under construction.
On the 11th of July, 2023, the Ministry issued yet another Circular to the Local Governments since there were reported cases of extortion from the unsuspecting potential teachers. This matter therefore, is not new to the people who are complaining since they were already warned that these were schools under construction and not expected to have any staff until they are completed and opened.
On Qualifications for recruitment of Headteachers and Deputies
According to the Scheme of Service for teachers, the qualification for the post of Headteacher, Government Secondary includes the following; a Bachelor‘s degree in Education or Bachelor’s degree with post graduate qualifications in Education from a recognized University/ institution; a Master’s Degree in Education or related field; registered as a Teacher with the Ministry of Education and Sports; a minimum of twelve (12) years working experience in a Government owned / aided Secondary School, three (3) of which should have been at the level of Deputy Head teacher.
Deputy Headteachers must have a Bachelor’s Degree in Education or Bachelor’s Degree plus a Post Graduate Diploma in Education from a recognized University/institution; a minimum of nine (9) years teaching experience, three (3) of which should be at the level of Education Officer in a secondary school; and be registered as a Graduate Teacher with the Ministry of Education and Sports. Having a Master’s Degree in Education or Education Management or Education Planning and Management or a Master’s degree in any teaching subject is an added advantage.
Challenges in Recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff in the seed schools
Whereas it’s true that the Education Service Commission has been conducting School based recruitment in the previous seed schools, it has come to the attention of Government that the recruitment process has been infiltrated by corrupt tendencies and opportunism which include the following;
Moonlighting/Double Employment: It was established that a number of teachers on Government Payroll who want to become Headteachers are sitting in these schools because they want to use them as a short cut for promotion.
This is in total disregard to the Uganda Public Service Standing Orders, 2021 Section A-o and Clause 5 of the recruitment guidelines issued that require officers to seek permission before being absent from work and hence deemed to have been absent from duty in their official schools of posting.
Inexperienced Headteachers and Deputies: The Headteachers and Deputy Headteachers in these Schools don’t meet the qualifications. The sector has noted with concer that the quality of Headteachers and Deputies who have been recruited through the school based leaves a lot to be desired. These Headteachers are transferable to the already existing schools and they lack capacity to manage schools.
Extortion and Bribery tendencies: The Ministry and the Education service Commission has received credible information of irregular/secondment of staff to these schools with the view that their appointments shall be regularized by the Education Service Commission. This was being done on condition that prospective teachers pay hefty sums of money to be included on the list of sitting teachers.
Nepotism and tribalism: A number of complaints were received by the Ministry of Education and Sports and the Education Service Commission from some Chief Administrative Officers and the actual sitting teachers that have been left out of the lists submitted because they don’t come from the regions even after serving in these schools for long.
Neighboring Private Secondary schools that purport to be affiliated to the Ugift seed Secondary Schools. In the Circular of 2023, the Ministry guided all Local Governments that Seed schools with exception of those legally in existence before 2019 would be considered. However, it’s worth noting that majority of these schools were not in existence as they were neither registered nor licensed by this Ministry to operate as secondary schools and thus operating illegally or nonexistent.
Discrepancies and Contestations of Lists submitted to the Education Service Commission. The Education Service Commission has kept receiving conflicting lists from various stakeholders and thus nearly impossible to independently verify the authenticity of the lists.
Local Leaders camping in Schools. Education Service Commission has not been able to recruit in some schools because of local leaders pushing different lists at the time of interviews.
Change in competition for seed school jobs
The need for open competition instead of school based recruitment, Article 167 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda established the Education Service Commission. Article 168 and 251 of the same Constitution and Education Service Commission Regulations 2012, mandates the Education Service Commission to regulate its own procedures and therefore, decide the mode of recruitment.
The Commission has decided that this particular recruitment is opened for internal competition since these are promotional positions to attract eligible season and serving officers. The rest of the other positions in these schools will be advertised externally and all those who are eligible will be free to apply and compete.
As a sector, we need to ensure transparency in the recruitment processes to provide for quality education in all our schools.
The shocking revelations and change in application for jobs was announced two days after the Education Service Commission (ESC) announced jobs for head teachers and deputy head teachers for seed schools, as reported Here.
The Pearl Times has previously reported that Education Service Commission officials were selling teaching jobs for as low as Shs2m, and so were district service commissions. See Details Here, and There.
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