Lawmakers have advised care taker head teachers in seed senior secondary schools under the Uganda Intergovernmental Transfer (UGIFT) to consider competing with others following the advertisement of their jobs.
Head teachers and Deputy Head teachers of 76 seed schools under phase two of UGIFT petitioned Parliament, seeking affirmative action from the Education Service Commission.
They presented their petition to Speaker, Anita Among on 25 November 2024 and she referred it to the Committee of Education and Sports.
While meeting the petitioners on Monday, 27 January 2025, committee members encouraged the teachers to follow the set guidelines of public service recruitment, arguing that the sitting head teachers and their deputies were recruited informally.
Hon. Martin Muzaale (NRM, Buzaaya County) said that whereas the head teachers and their deputies were given the mandate to care take, informally, they now require formal placements, since government has taken over.
“The gist of this petition is to ring fence the positions but what if we do that and you do not have the qualifications; government has standards which we have to follow,” said Muzaale.
Hoima East Division MP, Hon. Patrick Isingoma noted that granting the petitioners affirmative action will cause a shift in government’s recruitment policy.
Abim District Woman MP, Hon. Janet Okori-moe challenged the head teachers to convince the committee as to why they deserve affirmative action.
“Tell us why you think you are better than other Ugandans who are equally qualified and what would you recommend as the fair, transparent and merit based recruitment process,” Okori-moe added.
Hon. Atkins Katusabe (FDC, Bukonjo County West) however, urged his colleagues to ensure a middle ground is reached to avoid possible loss of jobs by the sitting head teachers.
“They have been teaching and why all of a sudden turn around against these teachers. They have faith in Parliament and it is only Parliament with the constitutional mandate of representation,” Katusabe said.
The Chairperson of the Committee on Local Government, Hon. Martin Ojara Mapenduzi wondered why the teachers were worried, especially if they are qualified for the jobs.
“The lead petitioner should help us understand; did they detect certain requirements in the advertisement that will disqualify them? If there are certain things that are unfair, you need to tell us,” he said.
Lead petitioner, Stanley Ochom, the Head teacher of Loroo Seed secondary School in Amudat District said that the head teachers are eligible, according to the requirements in the advertisement.
Ochom instead recommended that recruitment of sitting teachers is done on site at school level as has been since 2017.
“If left unchecked, it would be unfair and unjust to these teachers who have endured immense suffering volunteering for over seven years in these schools,” said Ochom.
He added that the teachers are likely to abandon the schools, owing to lack of trust and hope in the Education Service Commission.
“The record of continuous assessments for these learners will be lost as there will be no teachers responsible for submitting continuous assessment results to Uganda National Examinations Board,” added Ochom.
The Uganda Local Government Association (ULGA) said that the advertisement is discriminatory because it only considers government teachers on the payroll, and yet the sitting teachers are not on payroll.
ULGA Vice President for Central Region, Ibrahim Kitata said that sitting head teachers and their deputies with the required experience and qualifications, regardless of whether they are on government payroll or not should be given the opportunity to apply for the positions.
“This recommendation would eliminate all discriminatory sentiments and accusations arising from interested, experienced and qualified Ugandans,” Kitata said.
The seed secondary schools in question were initiated by communities and various teachers were identified to provide leadership and technical guidance to ensure their operationalisation.
According to the petitioners, the schools signed a memorandum of understanding with the district local government authorities that, upon take over by government, the sitting staff would be given internal recruitment opportunities.
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