October 5th, every year, marks World Teachers’ Day, celebrating the status of teachers globally. Teachers and educationists gather to commemorate the adoption of the 1966 International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recommendations concerning the status of teachers, as well as the 1997 UNESCO Recommendation concerning the status of higher education teaching personnel.
The theme for this year’s celebrations is, “Valuing Teacher Voices: Towards a New Social Contract for Education.” According to the Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU), this theme highlights the need to value teachers’ knowledge, voices, and participation in decision-making processes in education.
As they celebrate their day, teachers worldwide are renewing their call to governments, emphasizing that there should be “Nothing about us, without us.” In UNATU’s message on this day, teachers expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s disregard for their voices, which they say will negatively impact both teacher status and motivation, as well as the effectiveness of teacher programs and overall education policy.
The increase in applications for early retirement from the teaching profession in Uganda has reportedly resulted from the discriminatory salary enhancements implemented in the 2022/2023 fiscal year. This demotivated teachers who were excluded from the increment, prompting many to consider quitting the profession.
“UNATU raised the red flag and put up a spirited fight against the discriminatory salary enhancements, arguing that all teachers matter and, therefore, all deserve an increment. But our voice was ignored, and now the country must face the consequences of what may be considered one of the worst blunders in Uganda’s education sector since independence,” reads part of the message signed by Mr. Zadock Tumuhimbise (UNATU chairperson) and Mr. Filbert Baguma (UNATU General Secretary).
They further lamented that in 2020, the government undermined their concerns when UNATU raised a red flag about the dangers of implementing the New Lower Secondary School Curriculum without adequate planning and teacher preparation.
“The curriculum is excellent and has the potential to transform our education. However, the government refused to heed UNATU’s advice to halt implementation until teachers, schools, parents, and the community were prepared for the change. Unfortunately, the government expedited the process, and as the first set of O-Level candidates under the new curriculum prepare to sit for national exams, the challenges remain overwhelming,” they added.
Teachers also highlighted that many schools struggled to implement the new curriculum due to limited training and inadequate resources, forcing some to revert to the old curriculum or create a hybrid of both. Additionally, the new A-Level curriculum has not yet been approved, leaving uncertainty for learners transitioning to A-Level next year.
Teachers argue that they are at the heart of the education process and are, therefore, well-placed to guide the government on decisions concerning teachers, learners, and overall education policy.
The 2024 World Teachers’ Day theme emphasizes a new social contract in education, prioritizing social dialogue with teachers on a range of professional issues, including curricula, pedagogy, learner assessment, and the organization of education within schools.
In Uganda, the social dialogue framework is embedded within the National Teacher Policy, which was officially approved and launched in 2019. Since 2017, UNATU, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Sports and with funding support from UNESCO, has been conducting regional social dialogues with teachers and other education stakeholders across the country.
“The social dialogues have been instrumental in documenting teacher and education issues in the country. However, the biggest challenge is that while the responsible authorities quickly acknowledge that the issues raised affect teachers and require urgent attention, little to no action is taken due to claims of insufficient funding. Unfortunately, limited government funding continues to escalate the crisis in Uganda’s education sector,” Mr. Baguma emphasized, adding, “The time for increased investment in education is now.”
Teachers are urgently advocating for the recruitment of more qualified teachers to reduce workloads, as well as fair salary enhancements to be implemented in the 2025/2026 fiscal year across all categories of teachers to increase motivation and retention.
They also call for the implementation of schemes of service, professional development opportunities, technical and financial support to teachers’ savings and credit cooperative organizations, and improved teacher accommodation to enhance teacher effectiveness and productivity.
According to UNATU, teachers’ health insurance will improve their well-being, while identification, recognition, and rewarding of outstanding teachers will enhance both teaching and learning. Additionally, considering teacher qualifications in salary payments should serve as a motivation for continuous professional development.
“On this World Teachers’ Day, we call on the government, as a signatory to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to recommit to achieving SDG 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. This will require increased investment in education and teachers, who remain central to the achievement of quality education,” they said.
With their slogan, “Because we are, the nation is,” teachers organized celebrations in their respective districts across the country.
