Education officials in Mukono district are scratching their heads for a solution to address the escalating departure of teachers on the government payroll.
The authorities assert that teachers are resigning to attend to their personal businesses leaving the learners in government schools at a loss.
The significant departure has worsened the situation since the district lacks a service commission to do the replacement.
The district is still struggling to fill the void left by previous unexplained resignations compounded by the failure to recruit more teachers in the absence of the District Service Commission (DSC).
The unpleasant situation came up at the presentation of the district in a collaborative session convened by the Office of the President.
At least each month, the CAO and Municipal Town Clerk’s offices revealed a surge in teacher resignation particularly since the COVID-19 ‘new normal’.
Francis Byabagambi, the Municipal Town Clerk, attributes the situation to the teachers exploring alternative ventures during the COVID-19 recess which proved to be three times more lucrative than their salaries.
“We are between the rock and the hard place, absence of the district service commission has restricted recruitments, promotions, and replacements. At the same time, we fear rejecting teacher’s resignations since they can sue us,” he says.
However, several government schools in Mukono can not provide adequate education to the learners due to a lack of teachers. Some schools with financial capacity have resorted to hiring private teachers to fill the gaps and boost quality education.
Betty Namigadde Sserunjogi, the headteacher of Nsonga Church of Uganda Primary School says their working conditions are substandard yet their salaries are insufficient to cover their expenditures.
“Many teachers spend part of their salaries to cater for travel fares since schools lack quarters for accommodation and others take care of big families despite the limited earnings.”
Dr. James Tweheyo, the Commissioner, Office of the President advised the district leadership to address all hindrances to the establishment of the DSC to facilitate teacher recruitment and replacement.
Mukono has now spent close to three years without a recruiting body due to fights between the district leadership and public service. Lately, the High Court ordered the immediate constitution of the commission though the efforts are again delayed.
“Fights frustrate development and cause residents to suffer. We have advised leaders to solve all the misunderstandings or we instigate investigations into the real causes of misunderstandings. Why would our children suffer due to the lack of teachers,” says Tweheyo.
Other Issues Highlighted
Among other issues raised during the oversight engagement was the delayed reimbursement of collected revenue back to local government units from the center for service delivery.
Delayed release of government funds contributes greatly to the return of funds to the treasury since the expenditure period fails to match the procurement process.
Recurring budget cuts and reduction of road funds despite the poor infrastructure of the district. Nonetheless, leaders were grateful to the government for considering the district under the KMA development project. Among security concerns were land grabbing cases and mob justice cases at Nama Sub County.
The district commissioners, Mike Sseggawa and Rhonda Tiitwe Kagaaga applauded the office of the president for the wonderful monitoring and mobilisation of government projects.
These took commissioners from the Office of the President to various places within the district for inspection.
At Mukono Municipality, Dr. Tweheyo togther with another commissioner, Gatrude Collins Obed visited Kame Valley Market where he confirmed that vendors have put to good use borrowed money from Emyooga and Parish Development Model initiatives.
They also visited the Lweza bridge which is under construction, Nsonga C/U primary school, the Katosi landing site, and PDM beneficiaries at Ntenjeru-Kisoga who have put money to good use.
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