Arts teachers have gone for months without pay amid claims that their money was diverted to pay science teachers.
According to some teachers we interviewed, told our media that the local leaders diverted their salaries to pay off science teachers whose salaries was enhanced last year.
However the Uganda National Teachers Unions secretary general Mr Baguma Filbert confirmed this development and criticized the district leaders for the mess.
…” the accounting officers are at fault because they have continued to pay science teachers their enhanced salaries to the disadvantage of the Arts teachers whose salaries weren’t enhanced,” Baguma said.
Currently science teachers in the new arrangement take home Shs 4 m as opposed to the Arts teachers who earn a net of shs 800,000 for graduate teachers and about Shs 700,000 for diploma holders.
Mr Baguma added that the salaries of science teachers were enhanced but the money wasn’t released to cater for the increment prompting local government to divert salaries of Arts teachers.
Close to 200 Arts teachers from 50 districts have so far lodged complaints with his office over missing salaries.
A teacher who spoke to our media on condition of anonymity said that he had not been getting his salary since last year begun.
He said that he had been getting notified how their salaries were affected by the budget shortfall after enhancement of salaries of science teachers.
Other sources claim that at least 15 teachers at Tororo Girl’s Secondary School and 12 from Manjasi High School haven’t received salaries since February.
The head teacher of St Peter’s college in Tororo said 13 teachers hadn’t received salaries since February.
…” we did the approvals of all our teachers but we were notified that the ministry of Finance hadn’t yet released the money,” Mr Enron said.
Mr Augustine Mugabo the chairperson of Headteacher’s Association said that his office had received several complaints regarding the delayed salaries.
I met the permanent secretary of the ministry of Education on Monday and she said that there must have been mismanagement of payroll in local governments . She said that they were going to investigate the matter,”Mr Mugabo said.
The ministry of Finance spokesman Mr Mugunga Jim referred us to the line ministry for a detailed explanation.
As a matter of policy the ministry of finance upholds the principle of salary and wages being a statutory entitlement and hence a right. Our undertaking is to pay the same between 20th and 25th of every month and this we uphold.No rightfully recruited teachers have been paid,” he said.
He added that he wasn’t aware of the situation where any accounting officer would use ones salary to either pay the other or top up a science teacher as alleged.
The ministry of Education spokesman Mr Mugimba Denis also said he wasn’t aware of the matter too and tasked local governments to explain the discrepancies.