The proposal to have teachers in private schools earn a uniform salary with their counterparts on the government payroll is in the pipeline, Daily Monitor has learnt.

Sources in the Ministry of Education and Sports said the proposal has been deliberated on in various internal meetings, pending approval by top managers and Cabinet.
One source said the ministry of Education will then develop the Private Education Training Policy that will regulate operation of private schools in the country.

“Some teachers in private schools are underpaid and sometimes their remuneration comes late. As the government, we cannot just sit and watch,” another source said, adding: “We are saying let all teachers in private schools be paid a basic minimum wage. The policy has not yet been approved, but the proposal on the table is that these schools should not pay less than what the government is paying.”

Another source said the proposal has suffered rejections from some officials on grounds that most private schools are struggling due to the effects of the pandemic.
A similar proposal is placed in the 2019 National Teachers’ Policy that was approved by Cabinet. The policy’s implementation has kicked off.

“All stakeholders will be required to benchmark salaries of teachers to ensure competitiveness. Stakeholders will be required to benchmark on government salaries as baseline and other best practices in order to offer competitive salaries to teachers,” the policy reads in part. Meanwhile, private school owners yesterday told Daily Monitor that this was not the first time the government was targeting equal salaries for teachers.

Mr Kasadu Kirabira, the chairperson of the National Private Educational Institutions Association, said their stand on the proposal has not changed, and that they will reject it if the government brings it up again.

“The level of private schools and student enrolment in these schools is different so you cannot expect them to have a uniform salary because their students pay different school fees,” he said. He added: “This is not working for us. We want the government to show us how it will work. Unless the government is going to pay the salaries of our teachers. A law should depend on situations, otherwise these dormant laws cannot work in societies.”

The Education ministry spokesperson, Dr Denis Mugimba, did not answer or return our calls yesterday. However, speaking yesterday during the Senior One and Senior Five selection exercise at Kololo, the assistant commissioner in-charge of private schools, Mr George Mutekanga, said the government is ready to implement guidelines for staff employment in private schools and institutions.  According to the guidelines that were approved in 2017, NSSF is mandatory for all teaching and non-teaching staff in all private schools.

The guidelines also call for compulsory contracts spanning not less than two years. Schools should also have a board of governors comprising 12 people who are supposed to be approved by the Education minister. Mr Mutekanga said the ministry is disseminating these guidelines following a delay occasioned by Covid-19.

Policy
Already in place
A similar proposa about uniform pay is placed in the 2019 National Teacher’s Policy that was approved by Cabinet. The policy’s implementation has kicked off.The guidelines also call for compulsory contracts spanning not less than two years. Schools should also have a board of governors’ comprising 12 people who are supposed to be approved by the Education minister. The ministry says it is currently disseminating these guidelines following a delay occasioned by the pandemic.