By Simpson Muyambi
Stakeholders in Rukungiri district are worried about the ongoing early retirements of teachers in government schools which they say might affect the education standards in the district.
The Uganda National Teachers Union chairperson for Rukungiri district Biliho Lovence, said that the trend of Rukungiri district public school teachers opting out of the teaching profession over the years is a matter of concern.
Lovence attributed this to the challenges teachers face in the course of their duties which include low salaries, indiscipline of students, heavy workload, and inadequate resources which all lead to dissatisfaction hence quitting the profession.
She added that teachers are among the least paid out of all public sector workers in Uganda noting that it’s so absurd that graduate teacher still earns much less compared to peers with equal qualifications in other professions Some teachers have realized that teaching yields little returns than running informal businesses which can at least help them obtain worthy payments that can enable them to reach their social and economic needs, for that case, teachers have opted to go for other activities in which they can earn more money compared to teaching.
However, Lovence requested the government of Uganda to recognize the important role played by teachers in the provision and achievement of educational objectives by at least increasing their salaries since it’s one of the causes of early retirement.
