By Jumah Kakomo
The Opposition Uganda peoples Congress (UPC) party has expressed concern over Schools bound to face a crisis of teachers .
Addressing the media on Wednesday at party headquarters Kampala, the head of communication and information of UPC Faizo Muzeyi noted that It has been revealed by the education service commission validation report that close to 5,000 teachers are due to retire in a few years time.
Muzeyi says this ordinarily is supposed to be a routine exercise that both the school authorities and Ministry of Education and Sports should have been aware of and prepare accordingly. With an education system that strategically relies heavily on senior teachers to nurture and shape young educationist, it demands that the transition has to be carefully planned.
“Each senior position in school automatically needs a senior teacher to administer, UPC is fully aware of the challenges that our schools are facing, ” Muzeyi said.
He adds that during the Covid-19 lockdowns, a number of teachers dropped from the teaching profession and tried other trades. Coming back to the profession has not been automatic as the part time jobs proved more rewarding to them thus creating a vacuum.
Additionally, the unfair and selective implementation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) by the Government that witnessed only science teachers benefiting with nothing to their counterparts, the arts teachers, demoralized them as well as scaring the young ones from joining the profession. This poses a great challenge of what is going to become of our education system coupled with the existing teacher – student ratio and text book – student ratio issues! Both teachers and pupils/students are directly responsible for working towards good performance, others just come in to play a supplementary role,”Muzeyi stated.
The spokesperson of the party Sharon Arach Oyat says it is imperative that the welfare of the teachers and learners is catered for very well.It is high time the government through her line Ministry of Education and Sports made teaching profession more attractive with a better pay and good conditions of service. There is a school of thought that there is no country that can develop better than her education system. All the way from pre-primary, primary, secondary school, college/vocation training and university have a direct bearing to the country’s development. “When our education system lacks innovation and practical skills, our graduates lack a competing edge in a globalized market,”Sharon said.
She says UPC is on record demanding for quality education across the country and to achieve this, there is a need to assess the necessary requirements of the schools, colleges and universities and provide them at the right time.
“The culture of responding to the crisis should stop and instead invest in proper planning and effective implementation of the strategies,”She added.
She says going back to the school of thought that no country can develop better than her education system, Uganda is now faced with a challenge of having our food products rejected by our trade partners like Kenya and South Sudan. In the same vein, Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) has denied Uganda an opportunity to host international football matches due to the poor quality and /or standards of the football ground! It is the education system that is responsible for the falling standards, and it is equally the same education system that is to lift Uganda. This calls for early proper planning, goodwill and effective implementation of the plans or policies.
THE DEATH OF A CONGRESSMAN, KAMURE
Faizo Muzeyi says the Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) would like to inform the general membership and public about the passing on of a senior member, Comrade Kamure Titia Caleb who died at Arua Regional Referral Hospital on September 14, 2023, after suffering a short illness.
“According to the family, the burial of our senior comrade is slated for Saturday 23rd September 2023 in Terego District, West Nile sub region,”Muzeyi said.
He ada that the Party will continue to get in touch, and follow the program of the family to give the fallen comrade a befitting final sendoff.
