ULGA backs Headteachers" petition in Parliament seeking inclusion in advert for Seed Schools jobs

Headteachers d staff from operational seed schools under UGIFT Phase 2 have petitioned Parliament, urging it to halt the ongoing job adverts issued by the Education Service Commission.

The decision by the Commission to advertise jobs for positions that have been caretaken by the current staff for the past seven years or so has sparked resistance.

"It's wrong for the Education Service Commission to advertise our jobs without giving us first priority," one of the headteachers said. "We have been caretaking these positions for seven years, and it’s only fair that we be considered for the jobs."

The headteachers voiced their concerns before the joint committee on Education and Sports, and Local Government and Public Service, emphasizing that the job adverts have caused significant psychological distress and stress among their colleagues.

CPA Ibrahim Kitatta, Vice Chairperson of the Uganda Local Government Association (ULGA) in charge of Buganda Region and Governor Lwengo District Local Government, who presented a memorandum in support of the petition on behalf of The ULGA President HE Awany Andrew Moses of Kole District, also criticized the Education Commission's advert for not following His Excellency President Museveni's directive that cleared the caretaker teachers to be given an opportunity to compete for the jobs with other applicants.

Governor Kitatta, flanked by the ULGA Secretary General Mr Okuku Richard, Uganda Urban Authorities Association's Secretary General Mr Francis Balabanawe, Members of a select commitee of the executive members, selected Chief Administrative Offices, claimed that the advert lacked flexibility and excluded some seed schools from the recruitment process.

In addition, several headteachers and Chief Administrative Officers raised allegations of bribery involving some officials from the Ministry of Education and the Education Service Commission.

"There is corruption in the ongoing recruitment of teachers," one headteacher revealed. "Agents have been planted in almost all parts of the country, contacting applicants."

The committee members were divided over the petition. While some MPs advised the petitioners to withdraw and engage directly with the Commission, others expressed support for processing the bill.

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I salute you and bring you greetings from Uganda Local Governments Association, and its member Districts and Sub counties of Uganda. 

We appreciate the Committee of Education and Sports for the invitation to discuss the pertinent issues regarding the recruitment of Head Teachers and Deputies in the UGIFT Seed Schools.

We are grateful for the UGIFT program and its contribution towards changing the face of services in Local Governments specifically in the Education programming. We take note that the UGIFT programme intended to increase budgetary appropriations to recruit teachers (10,000 for primary and 8,000 for secondary). We will now highlight a few achievements of the programme in Education;

Importantly, 537 teachers were recruited in 2022/23, 5,656 teachers in 2023/24, and 10,810 teachers are expected to be recruited in 2024/25. Good performance has been realized mostly in secondary education, with 5,119 teachers hired in 2023/24 and plans to recruit an additional 8,684 teachers in 2024/25, exceeding the medium-term plan of 8,000 secondary school teachers. 

The programme further contributed to the increase in the capitation per pupil to UgShs 20,000, with Special Needs Education per pupil at 26,565. Secondary school capitation per student raised to Ushs. 175,000, with Special Needs Education at 219,450 and UPOLET at 275,000. 

Additional money for health and education formula-based development grants for the renovation and extension of existing facilities secured. Arising from this, financing has been committed to constructing 259 seed secondary schools. 117 Seed Schools have been constructed and are operational, while 115 schools are under construction in the second phase and 27 in the third phase. Additionally, 92 schools under the second phase have been identified to commence operations, with recruitment and deployment of staff underway

Therefore, as we discuss the issues arising from the advertisement on recruitment of Head Teachers and their Deputies, it suffices to note the aforementioned achievements and call on this Committee to engage further with the Development Partners to expedite the realization of the UGIFT Phase 3 resources.

Hon. Members, as you are aware, most of these Seed Schools are community based, religious founded and in many instances, families offer land onto which these schools are constructed. We note the tendency for community members, religious institutions and families to influence the recruitment of Head Teachers in those schools with a sense of entitlement due their service towards the development of those schools. 

We take note of the 25th November, 2024 advertisement by the Education Service Commission and make the following observations and recommendations.

Internal Advert:

The advertisement was internal not external and therefore inviting only qualified applicants already on the Government payroll evidenced by the six months’ payslips before the closing date of submission, letters of appointment, confirmation and posting/transfer. 

We note, that several of the affected care taker Head Teachers and Deputies were not yet on the government payroll and therefore ineligible to apply for the posts yet they had been serving for some quality time. On the other hand, we take note that the advert closed the door for experienced and qualified Head Teachers from Private Schools. Therefore, coded discriminatory in nature.

We also take note of the existing guidelines that do not permit for someone to be given the job directly as the case was during phase 1 of UGIFT. 

Hon. Members according to recruitment guidelines, a headteacher at a Seed Secondary School must have a Bachelor’s degree in Education or equivalent, a Master’s degree in a related field, and at least 12 years of experience, including three years as a deputy headteacher. Similarly, a deputy headteacher must have a Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of nine years’ teaching experience, with a Master’s degree considered an added advantage

Recommendations: 

Sitting Head Teachers and Deputies with the required experience and qualification regardless of whether they are on the government payroll or not should be given the opportunity to apply and compete for the positions.

Private School experienced and qualified Head Teachers and Deputies should also be provided the opportunity to apply and equally compete for the positions.

The Education Service Commission job requirements especially on experience and qualification should be maintained but allow for all those with the experience and qualifications to apply. 

Therefore, the advertisement should be opened up to the general public of all qualified and experienced individuals. These recommendations above would eliminate all discriminatory sentiments and accusations arising from interested, experienced and qualified Ugandans.

New constructed Seed Schools:

Hon. Members, we take note that not all Districts are affected the same way. There are Districts with newly constructed seed schools which were not operational before and therefore the aspect of care take Head Teachers and Deputies does not apply. For example, in the Karamoja region all the schools constructed are purely new that is; Loroo Seed Schools in Amudat, Kapedo Seed Secondary School in Karenga, Rengen Seed Secondary School in Kotido, Nakiloro Seed Secondary School in Moroto, Moruita Seed Secondary School in Nakapiripirit and Iriiri Seed School in Napak District Local Government.

It is our recommendation for the Education Service Commission to expedite the process and ensure experienced and qualified candidates are recruited and posted in the newly constructed seed schools. 

Constructed Seed Schools in Phase 1:

There are seed schools that were constructed in phase 1 but are yet to receive Head Teachers and Deputies for example Atiak Seed School in Zombo. The District continues to receive wage but without recruitment and deployment. This position has negatively affected the District in the overall performance in the Local Government Performance Assessment.

It is our recommendation that Education Service Commission, equally prioritizes recruitment of Head Teachers and their Deputies to Schools constructed under phase 1 of UGIFT.

Alleged extortion, bribery, nepotism and tribalism:

Hon. Members we take note of the hasty generalized statements accusing Local Governments of extortion, bribery, nepotism and tribalism in the recruitment of staff even where there is no evidence. We continue to urge all stakeholders to desist from using disparaging and general statements against Local Governments without evidence. 

Hon. Members, according to the Local Government Management and Service Delivery (LGMSD) Performance Assessment report for 2023 (published in 2024), there has been sustained improvement in Local Government performance. Using 2020 as the base year, the aggregate Local Government performance improved from 36% in 2020 to 44% in 2021, 51% in 2022, and 57% in 2023, representing a 21percentage point improvement. This upward trend reflects improvements across all key performance areas, demonstrating that Local Governments have become more compliant with policies and regulations, and have improved both efficiency and effectiveness in delivering services.

Where such practices of corruption highlighted above happen, we will condemn and continue to engage our members to adhere to the Association’s ethics and accountability charter to ensure transparency, accountability and ethical conduct.

It is our recommendation that all stakeholders intending to make statements against Local Governments carry along evidence to justify their accusations. Otherwise, this leaves us with no evidence to determine our interventions in bringing our members to order. 

Advertisement on recruitment of Teachers in Seed Schools:

Hon. Members, as we discuss the issues of recruitment of Head Teachers and Deputies, we equally take note of the December 2024 advert on recruitment of Teachers in Seed Secondary Schools. This advert left out some the subject of Nutrition, Food and Technology yet there are teachers that were teaching that subject. The advert also required applicants to only apply for one post and in one school, limiting flexibility and opportunity for one to apply for more than one post and school. There are some seed schools that were equally left like Senendet SSS, Kapkoros in Bukow among others.

It is our recommendation therefore, that Education Service Commission considers all subjects left out by the advert otherwise, teachers will be left without employment and learners missing out on the subjects.

The Education Service Commission, should equally open up the advert to allow for applicants to apply to more than one school and post given the tight competition for the limited teaching posts, as well as considering the schools left out by the advert.

CONCLUSION

As we conclude this paper, the team notes that education financing remains heavily reliant on conditional grants, which make up 98% of total Local Government funding for the sector. These grants are tightly controlled by the central government through sector planning and budgeting guidelines, limiting Local Government discretion in allocation and expenditure. The current structure leaves little room for Local Governments to address local education needs independently. 

We therefore recommend for increasing the adequacy of unconditional grants to enhance Local Government discretion, the overall size of Unconditional Grants must be increased. A higher allocation would enable Local Governments to better manage local priorities without being over-reliant on conditional grants, which are tied to central government directives. A phased approach to increasing the grant's size should be implemented, with periodic reviews to assess its impact on Local Government decision-making capacity.

We finally urge the Committee to advance the full decentralization of Secondary School Education as enshrined in the Local Government Act Cap 138 Schedule 5 part 2 (1) and to equally consider our recommendations above for better service delivery to the people of Uganda.

Thank you, Hon. Chairperson, for inviting us to discuss this important matter.

For Unity and Efficiency of Local Governments!

Kitatta Ibrahim Almalik

Vice President ULGA Central Region /Chairperson Lwengo District Local Government