After weeks of industrial action demanding better pay and improved working conditions, Uganda’s arts teachers have agreed to return to classrooms following a high-level meeting with government officials.
Although the talks primarily focused on narrowing the pay gap between arts and science teachers, immediate benefits appear to favor science teachers due to a government pledge to reduce income taxes on all educators.
Francis Mutesasira, General Secretary of the Uganda Professional Humanities Teachers Union, said President Yoweri Museveni pledged to implement an immediate reduction in the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) tax rate for all teachers.
This tax relief is expected to come before any phased salary enhancements for arts teachers.
“The President assured us that the tax cut will apply to all teachers, including those in primary schools, arts subjects, and science disciplines. This measure is meant to offer immediate financial relief,” Mutesasira noted. Currently, teachers lose up to 30 percent of their gross income to PAYE.
The proposed 20 percent tax cut would raise net earnings for all teachers, but science teachers, who already earn more, stand to benefit the most.
According to the Ministry of Public Service, graduate science teachers earn a gross monthly salary of UGX 4 million and take home approximately UGX 2.8 million after tax. Graduate arts teachers, in contrast, earn between UGX 672,000 and UGX 754,600.
At the diploma level, science teachers earn around UGX 1.54 million net, while diploma-level arts teachers receive between UGX 521,500 and UGX 548,800.
If the tax cut is implemented, net pay for science teachers could rise to about UGX 3.6 million. Graduate arts teachers would see an increase of about UGX 200,000, bringing their net earnings to approximately UGX 970,000.
Although this would be the most significant improvement arts teachers have seen in years, it falls well short of the 300 percent raise they have demanded to achieve pay parity with science teachers.
Implementing such a sweeping change would likely require adjustments to the approved 2025-2026 budget or the introduction of a supplementary expenditure.
Sources who attended the meeting confirmed that President Museveni also expressed a long-term ambition to exempt all teachers from income tax, similar to exemptions currently enjoyed by members of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces, Uganda Police Force, and Uganda Prisons Service.
Beyond taxation, the President also pledged full education sponsorship for the biological children of teachers. This would include free education from primary through university in the very schools where their parents work.
Mutesasira explained that this measure aims to ease the financial strain teachers face in educating their children. “Some teachers cannot afford fees at the very schools they serve,” he noted. “The President said even university tuition will be covered.”
This pledge was warmly welcomed by arts teachers’ representatives, but it is not entirely new. It echoes long-standing proposals made in the Kajubi Report and later revisited by the Amanya Mushega Commission, where it was met with concerns over sustainability.
Brighton Barugahare, Commissioner for Education Policy and Research at the Ministry of Education and a member of the commission, reiterated this concern during a consultative meeting in Ankole.
He stated that while the promise may be politically attractive, its financial feasibility remains in question.
Currently, the government sponsors approximately 6,000 university students through various scholarship schemes.
Extending this benefit to the children of tens of thousands of teachers would significantly increase that number and would require either large-scale budget reallocations or the creation of a ring-fenced education fund.
Another key commitment made during the meeting was the construction of staff quarters for teachers, beginning with seed schools.
Speaking at the Uganda Media Centre, State Minister for Finance Amos Lugoloobi confirmed the government’s intention to invest UGX 540 billion in the housing initiative.
“According to the President, this is considered a one-time expenditure. We can implement it once the required funds are secured. The teachers shared the challenges they face, such as long commutes and relying on boda bodas. We shall do our best to find the money,” Lugoloobi said.
The government believes this investment will help tackle the long-standing issue of poor working and living conditions for teachers. These conditions have often been linked to low morale and absenteeism, especially in rural schools.
On the matter of salaries, President Museveni used his official X account, formerly known as Twitter, to reiterate his commitment to a phased pay rise.
He announced that teachers would receive a 25 percent annual salary increment starting in the next financial year until all teachers, including those in the arts, reach a monthly salary of UGX 4 million, matching what science teachers currently earn.
“We can develop collective solutions for arts teachers just as we did for soldiers. This includes building housing for teachers, ensuring their children study for free, and implementing a phased 25 percent salary increase,” the President posted.
However, many teachers remain doubtful. A similar promise was made in 2023 but was later abandoned when funds were redirected to support preparations for the 2026 general elections. Many fear that this latest commitment may also be deferred.
Estimates from the Ministry of Finance indicate that the government would need approximately UGX 509 billion annually to raise salaries for more than 17,000 arts teachers to the UGX 4 million level currently enjoyed by science teachers.
One of the few concrete outcomes from the meeting was the allocation of UGX 20 billion to the arts teachers’ SACCO. President Museveni described this as seed capital intended to help teachers start small businesses or generate supplementary income.
Similar financial support has been extended to other teacher unions in previous engagements.
Yet the move has not been universally embraced. Some teachers, especially at the grassroots level, view the SACCO fund as a distraction from their primary demand for equal pay.
Annet Mugisha, a secondary school teacher in Masaka, expressed doubts about the value of the meeting. “If our leaders agreed to call off the strike, then so be it. But I feel the meeting benefited them more than the rest of us,” she said.
“We left UNATU because they were not addressing our concerns. Yet even with this new leadership, all we heard were recycled promises that go back to 2018.”
Mugisha also questioned how the SACCO funds will be managed and distributed. “Maybe the leaders are excited because they will get the lion’s share of the UGX 20 billion,” she added.
Tom Kamya, a history teacher from Wakiso, voiced broader frustrations over the splintering of teacher unions. “These days, it feels like our struggle has been reduced to negotiating SACCO deals,” he said.
“We demanded a 300 percent salary increment, not loans. Our leaders walked away with a raw deal, and so did we.”
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