The Parliamentary Committee on Education and Sports is scheduled to submit a submission to the legislative assembly within a fortnight, addressing two formal appeals concerning the discrepancies in educators’ remuneration. The petitions were formally submitted to the legislature by the Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU) and the Uganda Technical and Vocational Trainers’ Union (UTVTU).
Presiding over the assembly on Monday, 20 October 2025, the Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa, communicated that the appeals had been delivered to the Speaker, Anita Among, on Wednesday, 08 October 2025.
“The instructors presented their grievances to the legislature, and the Speaker exercised her authority under Rule 31(7) of our standing procedures, directing the appeals to the relevant committee,” explained Tayebwa.
Tayebwa’s announcement followed renewed apprehensions voiced by Members of Parliament (MPs) regarding the negative impact of the industrial action taken by arts instructors on pupils in government schools nationwide.
Hon. Sarah Opendi, the Tororo District Woman Representative, lamented that students are currently in a crucial academic term requiring attention and reiterated the demand to promptly resolve the salary gaps between instructors of science and arts subjects.
“It is truly regrettable to observe children wandering in villages instead of attending classes. Even after the strike was suspended, the motivation of arts teachers to instruct remains low. Children in private institutions are progressing, while those in public schools are falling behind,” Opendi asserted.
Hon. Joseph Ssewungu (NUP, Kalungu West County) expressed concern about the anticipated academic performance of students in final assessments, such as the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), without adequate instruction from educators in subjects like English and Social Studies.
“The national examination body determines grading based on the curriculum provided to the pupils. Primary seven candidates have not been engaging in studies but will still be evaluated after the PLE. Parents work diligently to pay tuition, yet their children are not learning; this problem must be addressed with urgency,” Ssewungu stressed.
He added that children are resorting to self-study using printed educational material distributed in newspapers, which he deems insufficient.
“This difficulty ought to be resolved permanently. The identical matter surfaced during the Ninth Parliament, and a decision was reached that educators’ compensation would be increased incrementally. We can adopt a similar methodology,” Ssewungu suggested.
The Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Joel Ssenyonyi, proposed that the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development should provide supplementary budgetary allocations to settle the issue.
“The Minister of Finance can commit to presenting an additional funding proposal, as numerous supplementary schedules are introduced here every financial year. The core issue is that the government must offer the instructors a concrete commitment,” Ssenyonyi stated.
The Deputy Speaker clarified that the Finance Minister could only offer such an assurance after meeting with the committee reviewing the appeals from the educators’ associations.
“The committee is mandated to convene with the Ministries of Education, Public Service, and Finance. Rule 86(4) of our Rules of Procedure is clear on anticipation; any matter currently under committee review cannot be debated on the floor of the House,” Tayebwa concluded.
