Science teachers’ strike aborted.

After a high level meeting with the NEC on the salary enhancement of science professionals in the education sector, the Uganda Professional Science Teacher’s Union(UPSTU) through their national chairperson Elong Vincent has decided to lift their strike that started at the beginning of the second term.

Speaking at a press conference at media centre in Kampala, Elong said that after their sitting with the committee on May 19th they have resolved to halt this industrial action up to June 13th to allow the government to fully resolve their grievances and to monitor the progress of implementation of the presidential directive by their technical team.

“Effective today , at 11;59pm close to midnight, we ask our members including science teachers, NTC lecturers, tutors, TVET and others across the country to go back to work and attend to the nation’s future generation” Elong added.

In their meeting on April 21st, the UPSTU resolved to lay down tools if the government through its Education and Sports Ministry doesn’t settle their longstanding grievances that have continuously affected their member’s welfare.

Amongst these grievances included enhancing salaries of science teachers and other scientists in education institutions, recognition of all scientists in the education institutions hence equal pay, failure of the Ministry of Public Service to create science salary scales for head teachers and deputies of science qualifications after the withdrawal of their allowances in late 2019, insufficient funding at the implementation of the new lower secondary curriculum and many others.

The national chairperson also highlighted that they have also noted the repeated lack of commitment by the Ministry of Education and Sports to implement the promotional ladder of their teachers which has made many retire at a disgruntling scale.

“There are cases where many assistant educational officers have attained bachelor’s degrees as many as more than 10 years but their promotion has since met a winding road” he added.

The government has also on several occasions failed to put up a clear compensation mechanism for science teachers and laboratory technicians who have lost lives and suffered injuries while preparing and conducting practical lessons for learners and according to the union this is a factor that greatly affects them and they can’t continue watching it go unsolved.

The Uganda Professional Science Teachers Union is a government registered and recognized trade union that brings together Secondary science teachers, science tutors, NTC science lecturers, laboratory technicians and National Instructors College instructors and its membership currently standing at 14,000 scientists across the country.