Social media has been common with mockery memes about arts teachers regarding the wide disparities in lifestyles between arts and science teachers caused by a sharp salary difference.
It’s interesting to know how society has perceived this and their expectations of the total outcome from this development. Surprisingly, none of the burlesque memes shows an increase in the learner’s academic prowess in science as a reflection of more effort by science teachers upon getting a salary raise.
This means the public believes the enhancement of science teachers’ salaries will only improve their status in society but not science contrary to governments’ expectations. The efforts to normalise teachers’ salaries aren’t deliberately meant to shoot down the science teacher’s salary rise as perceived by some but to create harmony by avoiding demotivation amongst arts teachers since the dual work under the same setting and have equal qualifications handling different disciplines. We expect the least paid teacher to earn 5M in Uganda.
Besides that, salary disparities amongst teachers with the same qualifications and doing the same job will defeat the actual logic of motivation. This will instead curtail the desired results of promoting science because arts teachers who are key stakeholders in the system will be demotivated to complement science using arts and that’s how government initiatives die on arrival as taxpayers’ money gets wasted.
The government at times has good programs but it starts well and then spoils the whole thing before covering a mile.
The worst mistake was with the government issuing more threats than solutions to striking teachers yet teachers under their umbrella body of Uganda National Association of Teachers Union (UNATU) led by their general secretary Mr Filbert Baguma had officially informed the government about the industrial action before. We can’t, therefore, rule out the possibility of intimidation as one of the reasons for the termination of the strike by the teachers. Using threats and intimidating workers seeking a Constitutional economic right more so after informing relevant authorities about their intended action is illegal according to our constitution, employment act and the International Labour Organisation laws. Threats also do not solve the problem but instead build a mountain out of a molehill.
At the centre of all this are innocent learners whose active study time was reduced and maybe once again wasted since the impasse wasn’t resolved amicably. The strike did not yield the intended purpose and according to labour experts, it was termed a wasted effort.
Teachers calling off the strike shouldn’t be considered a win by the government because a more devastating strike could happen behind the scene and go on undetected by the government.
This could cause a management crisis and disharmony amongst teachers. The effects of all these challenges will affect learners and the government. A teacher’s presence in class doesn’t mean teaching is taking place. Effective teaching requires good communication skills and preparation for both the teachers and learners something government can not assess easily. The two aspects mentioned above are mental, and psychological and sensitive to internal and external factors like poor pay and unfavourable working conditions.
The government’s initial plan was to enhance the salaries of all the teachers accordingly but the president made a last-minute directive to allocate all the money as salary enhancement for only science teachers as revealed by parliament when contacted on the matter. Parliament has since then been informed by the finance minister Mr Matia Kasaija of the government’s inability to raise the almost 656Bn required for the purported salary increment. The president added his voice in the affirmative to kasaijja while meeting teachers at Kololo before they called off the strike hours later. This was and remains a humiliation for teachers before the entire nation.
How does the government want arts teachers to survive in these harsh economic times? All teachers buy from the same market as MPs and prices are not selectively applied depending on the salary one earns. Its apartheid to raise standards of living selectively at the cost of others in the same job family, especially when doing the same job. The government would have spread the available budget to cater for a general salary enhancement amongst all teachers like before. Giving science teachers allowances for teaching science while maintaining equal pay was more appropriate and welcome even up today.
Arts teachers may continue with the strike intellectually by avoiding teaching (well) areas which complement science subjects. Imagine producing scientists who can not interpret the alphabet or express themselves because of poor communication skills.
Government should have also considered establishing science facilities in districts not teaching science. Some districts do not register a single science student because they lack science facilities the same reason they don’t have science teachers.
Some arts teachers were good at sciences at O’Level but could not continue with sciences at A-level because of this same problem. This means such districts will miss out completely on this new salary enhancement for science teachers yet they would have benefited had it been a general salary increment for teachers. It also means those districts and communities miss out on revenue and investments that come along with a wealthy population.
The salary disparity phenomenon in the public service will have so many adverse effects on the entire country. It will fuel corruption, demotivation of workers, break communication, and eventually worsen the already poor service delivery in the country.
The teachers called off their strike under the disguise of trusting the government’s proposal to enhance their salaries next financial year. The teachers also claim both the strike and calling it off were done in the interest of learners.
However, we can not be sure if indeed teachers went back to class to teach. We also have to pray teachers don’t give back what is equivalent to the emoluments they get. Time will tell as the national examinations body releases results early next year.
A country’s education standards can never be beyond the quality of its teachers. Think about it!
For God and My Country
Concerned citizen
jpkamwada@gmail.com
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