ART TEACHERS’ NEGOTIATIONS PUT MORE SMILES ON SCIENCE COLLEAGUES WITH PROMISED TAX CUTS

Museveni in a group photo with the leaders of the teachers

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After weeks of striking to demand better pay and working conditions, arts teachers have agreed to return to classrooms following a high-level meeting with government officials.

While the negotiations primarily sought to tackle the persistent pay gap between arts and science teachers, the immediate benefits seem to favor science teachers mainly due to the government’s pledge to reduce income taxes on all teachers’ salaries.

Francis Mutesasira, the General Secretary Uganda Professional Humanities Teachers Union, revealed that during the tense negotiations, President Museveni pledged to implement an immediate reduction in the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) tax rate for all teachers. He noted that the tax relief would precede the phased salary enhancements for arts teachers.

“The President assured us that the tax cut will apply to all teachers, in primary, arts, and sciences, and that this will bring immediate financial relief,” Mutesasira told Uganda Radio Network.

Currently, teachers lose up to 30% of their salaries to PAYE deductions, significantly shrinking their take-home pay. The proposed 20% tax cut would boost net earnings for all teachers, though science teachers, who already earn more, stand to gain the most.

According to the Ministry of Public Service, graduate science teachers earn a gross monthly salary of UGX 4 million, taking home about UGX 2.8 million after tax, excluding other deductions.

In contrast, graduate arts teachers take home between UGX 672,000 and UGX 754,600. At the diploma level, science teachers earn about UGX 1.54 million net, while diploma-level arts teachers earn between UGX 521,500 and UGX 548,800.

If the tax cut is implemented, science teachers could see their net pay rise to around UGX 3.6 million. Graduate arts teachers, meanwhile, would gain approximately UGX 200,000 more, raising their net income to about UGX 970,200.

While this would be the most significant increase arts teachers have received in years, it still falls far short of the 300% pay raise they’ve demanded to achieve parity with their science counterparts. However, such a sweeping change is unlikely to be immediate.

The government may also need to revise the already approved 2025/2026 budget or introduce a supplementary expenditure to accommodate the tax waivers.

During the meeting, URN has confirmed through several sources that President Museveni also reiterated a long-term ambition to exempt all teachers from income tax;  similar to tax exemptions currently enjoyed by members of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), Uganda Police Force, and Uganda Prisons Service.

Beyond pay and taxation, the president introduced another far-reaching pledge: full sponsorship of teachers’ biological children from primary through university. According to Mutesasira, this would include free education in the very schools where teachers work, a measure meant to ease the financial burden teachers face in supporting their families.

“In some cases, teachers are unable to afford fees at the schools they serve,” he noted. “The president said even university tuition will be lifted off our shoulders.” This promise, though warmly received by art teachers’ leaders, is not entirely new. It echoes recommendations made in the landmark Kajubi Report.

However, implementation has remained elusive. Critics argue that expanding education sponsorship to all teachers’ children, especially at the university level, could place a massive strain on public education financing.

At present, the government sponsors about 6,000 university students through existing scholarship schemes. Extending this benefit to the children of tens of thousands of teachers would dramatically increase that number, requiring either major budget reallocations or a new, ring-fenced education fund.

The issue was also revisited during the Amanya Mushega Commission, where it drew critical scrutiny. Brighton Barugahare, Commissioner for Education Policy and Research at the Ministry of Education and a member of the commission, raised concerns about its practicality.

“While the promise may be politically appealing, its financial viability remains uncertain,” he remarked during one of the commission’s regional meetings held in Ankole. Teacher welfare also featured prominently in the meeting, with the president renewing his commitment to construct staff quarters at every school, beginning with seed schools. This initiative is aimed at easing the burden teachers face from long commutes and rising rental costs.

While the promise was received with applause by arts union representatives, this is not the first time the government has made similar pledges. In previous negotiations with the Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU), the construction of staff housing has consistently been presented as a key solution to improve teacher welfare. Yet, in practice, staff quarters remain a distant reality in most schools across the country.

Speaking to the press at the Uganda Media Centre, State Minister for Finance Amos Lugoloobi confirmed that the government has committed to constructing housing for both arts and science teachers, an initiative that is projected to cost UGX 540 billion.

“According to the president, this is considered a one-off expenditure,” Lugoloobi said. “We could implement it at any time, provided we secure the necessary resources. We reached this decision because teachers convincingly illustrated the challenges they face, from long commutes to daily struggles on boda bodas. We shall do our best to find the money.”

The government says the investment will help address the long-standing issue of poor working and living conditions for teachers, which has frequently been cited as a contributing factor to absenteeism and low morale, particularly in rural schools.

On the issue of salaries, President Museveni used his official X (formerly Twitter) account to reiterate the government’s commitment to a phased pay rise.

Teachers, he said, will receive a 25% annual salary increment starting in the next financial year, continuing until all teachers, including those in the arts, reach the UGX 4 million monthly salary that science teachers currently enjoy.

“We can develop collective solutions for arts teachers, similar to what we implemented for soldiers,” the president posted. “This includes building homes for teachers, ensuring their children study for free, and implementing a phased 25 percent pay increase.”

However, many teachers have heard this before. A similar promise was made last year, only for the government to later shift its stance, citing budget constraints and redirecting funds to support the 2026 general elections. For striking arts teachers, the fear is that history may repeat itself, and this latest commitment may once again be deferred.

Available information from the Ministry of Finance indicates that the government would require approximately 509 billion shillings to raise over 17000 arts teachers’ salaries to the desired UGX 4 million monthly threshold, matching what science teachers currently earn.

Apart from promises of future reforms, one of the few tangible takeaways from the meeting was a 20 billion shillings fund allocated to the arts teachers’ SACCO.

President Museveni reportedly offered the money as seed capital, intended to help teachers start small businesses or generate side income. Similar financial boosts have previously been extended to other teacher unions and associations in past engagements with the President.

However, the gesture has not been universally welcomed. Some teachers, especially those at the grassroots, view the fund as a token distraction from their core demand: fair and equitable pay.

Annet Mugisha, a secondary school teacher in Masaka, expressed skepticism over the meeting’s outcomes.

“If the leaders agreed to call off the strike, then it’s over, but in my view, it may have benefited them more than us,” she said. “We left UNATU because we felt they were not representing our issues. Yet even with this new leadership, what came out of that meeting are the same recycled promises we’ve been hearing since 2018 under UNATU. Nothing truly new.”

Mugisha also questioned the management and distribution of the SACCO funds. “Maybe the leaders are happy they’ll likely get the lion’s share of the UGX 20 billion,” she added.

Tom Kamya, a history teacher from Wakiso, voiced a broader concern: that the rise of multiple unions has diluted the teachers’ collective bargaining power. “These days, it feels like teacher struggles have been reduced to SACCO deals,” he said. “We demanded a 300 percent salary increment, not loans. Our leaders walked away with a raw deal, and so did we.”