Search Page

The Education Ministry recently appointed 157 new secondary school head teachers and 594 deputy head teachers. The State minister for higher education has asked the newly appointed secondary school head teachers to spearhead the war against corruption in the schools they will be leading. Speaking at the start of a two day induction of newly appointed head teachers at Kitante hill secondary school, Kampala, he challenged teachers to be honest and prudently manage resources at their disposal.

The Education Service Commission (ESC) has warned school heads about a ring of conmen who solicit money from schools, in exchange for jobs. This follows an ESC advertisement for 221 head teachers and 593 deputy head teachers in April. According to the ESC chairperson “Some unscrupulous people have been sending messages to unsuspecting applicants requesting for money to be shortlisted but all services by the ESC are free of charge.” All successful applicants have been shortlisted on the ESC notice board and website and no unsuccessful candidates should think that they can buy their way onto the shortlist.

In a scam unearthed recently, for over 14 months, hundreds of public servants in Wakiso district in Uganda were receiving salaries many times higher than what they are entitled to under their grades. So far, 183 teachers have admitted to have benefitted from this payroll fraud amounting up to 2.3 billion Ugandan shillings.

UPE parents will soon be able to report school malpractices using a toll free line which the Ministry of education is establishing. The state minister for primary education said parents with complaints will be reporting directly to his office using the toll free line.

The consequences of teacher absenteeism are dramatic for the quality of teaching, and Uganda has taken drastic measures to combat the problem. The report brings together a researcher from UNESCO's Education for All Global Monitoring Report and a doctor in Sociology and Education Policy from the ENS in Abidjan.

"The battle against corruption should be taken to schools in order to confront the vice at an early stage", stated a Ugandan Parliament Speaker. She also pointed out that Uganda has suffered repercussions of this vice for a long time, which is why youth should be sensitized to corruption and its effects to avoid the pitfalls of their parents.

A first-year law student at Makerere University, is eager to use "Not In My Country". The website, launched in May, asks students in Uganda to report corruption in higher education – such as lecturers trading higher grades for money or sex – and lets students rate classroom experiences. Confronting corruption, even at university level, is risky, therefore various safeguards are used to protect identities.