UPSTU General Secretary Mr Aron Mugaiga
By Our Reporter
Uganda Professional Science Teachers Union (UPSTU) has petitioned the Ministry of Public Service over underground plans targeting science teachers’ pay enhancement using biased research reports. In a letter dated March 20, 2023 addressed to the Head of Public Service and Secretary to Cabinet and Permanent Secretary, UPSTU , said they have learnt of a March 15, 2023 meeting which discussed and targeted their members. The letter signed by UPSTU General Secretary Mr Mugaiga Aron and National Chairperson Mr Vincent Elong, and copied to Public Service Minister , Education and Sports Minister and Information and National Guidance Minister, said a secret meeting targeted them. UPSTU said the meeting of Public Service Labour unions and a Research Team culminated in the alleged research findings that were disseminated to represent a true picture purportedly happening in the education sector whereas not. “ The research team too claimed to have involved all stakeholders in the consultations to come up with such discriminatory recommendations against the scientists in the education sector,’ said the letter. UPSTU said they want to categorically state that they were not consulted and generally scientists were not consulted , adding that in their opinion it is witch hunt on science teachers. The union said in the first place the research made was not inclusive enough and was not comprehensive as it gave only their purported findings on the state caused by the scientists’ pay enhancement in education sector and ignored other sectors. “The pay enhancement covered all sectors and departments of government. Upholding such findings and using them to make any decision forward can only be and will be misleading,” said the letter ,. UPSTU said considering education sector and deliberately refusing to involve their union and members in the research sample can only signify an ii and sinister motive against science teachers. The sinister motive, they added, is equally witnessed in the detractors alleged findings and recommendations of which some are reproduced thus “ teachers of science content” are not scientists. “Categorizing teachers’ as science or non – science may therefore not be appropriate and this is not true. It is not true that there is latent hostility between science and non – science teachers, creating two schools (science and non – science) within a school. They said this is misleading because they did not point out any school, even now they cannot get any school where such a thing has happened. UPSTU General Secretary Mr Mugaiga Aron said it is absurd that the detractors in their findings that are not true recommended that teachers categorization of science and non – science should be stopped. The educationist said this was the center of the detractors research and ill intention comes out clearly. Mr Mugaiga said targeting to knockout the pay enhancement of only scientists in education sector will not work.. He said: “ We must allow the policy a test of time to see the benefits and we should not tolerate any research findings that are not comprehensive and targets only particular section of scientists.” UPSTU challenges the research team and the perpetrators of all ill motives against science teachers instead of lobbying for pay enhancement for arts teachers. The union also reported that Information, Communication Technology (ICT) teachers are already being harassed and their salaries cut not to reflect science salary scale . “We are formally bringing the matter to attention of Public Service and Local Government Ministries to reinstate the salaries,” he said.
