Presiding over the graduation extravaganza of 413 secondary school headteachers in the sprawling Western Uganda landscape, spanning Mubende and Kasanda districts, orchestrated at the National Leadership Institute (NALI) in Kyankwanzi, President Museveni engaged in a symphony of wisdom with the participants who triumphantly concluded their ideological orientation saga. In response to heartfelt pleas from arts educators yearning for an upturn in remuneration, Museveni revealed that the eagerly anticipated salary adjustments for public servants would be momentarily delayed, citing the compelling need for a profound socio-economic metamorphosis.
Museveni underscored the colossal challenge of implementing substantial salary increases without laying a resilient foundation in socio-economic development, challenging the audience with queries like, “How can the state indulge in competitive salaries without orchestrating socio-economic transformation first? Where would the funds magically appear from? Even in our government’s early days, our salaries were akin to a humble melody; even today, my own salary hums a modest tune.”
He emphasized that a bona fide socio-economic transformation acts as a crucial overture for the government to amass the requisite resources to orchestrate a crescendo of salary elevation for public servants. Museveni intricately interwove the threads of transformation at the family level, job creation, income generation, and tax contributions, asserting that this tapestry plays a pivotal role in fine-tuning the government’s financial symphony to provide a harmonious compensation scale for its dedicated workforce.
In elucidating his predilection for sciences over arts in education and championing the well-being of science educators, Museveni defended the preference for cultivating engineers and medical maestros over other academic disciplines. Expressing his personal sonata, he quipped, “We yearn for these scientific virtuosos more since we crave engineers and medical virtuosos, among other crucial roles. I may have embraced arts, but summoning my inner Shakespeare won’t magically conjure a bridge into existence.”
Acknowledging a historical kerfuffle with educators over the distribution of additional funds, Museveni unveiled, “Recently, a minor crescendo of discord reverberated between us, the government, and teachers. When a modest influx of funds graced our coffers, we chose to elevate the salaries of scientists, sparking this symphonic clash.” The President’s opus underscores the ongoing concerto of discussions surrounding educational priorities and resource allocation in the pursuit of national development objectives, showcasing the delicate harmony between economic growth and equitable compensation for the public service ensemble.
Teachers are really important