Ministry of Education and Sports has ordered owners of private schools to honour their contractual obligations and pay up staff salaries without hiding behind the Coronavirus pandemic.
Teachers and other workers in some educational institutions have reportedly gone two months without receiving their due salaries while several institutions had resorted to paying them lesser percentages with others completely suspended.
School proprietors’ and administrators’ said they had no money to facilitate payrolls due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown. They explained that students who were their sole source of revenue went back home before clearing their outstanding balances.
However, Alex Kakooza, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education notes that since educational institutions have gone only two months without operating, the budgets for first term salaries should be adequate to pay the staff for at least three months.
The Ministry castigated the errant school owners for hiding behind the Coronavirus pandemic to deny their staff their salary dues saying the school closure periods given by the President imply that by April 19, 2020, education Institutions would have been remained closed for a period of two months.
“This period is less than the time that was left on the first term of 2020, including holidays, when schools were forced to close. Therefore, the budget for the salaries for the first term should be adequate to staff for at least three months,” noted Kakooza.
Kakooza asked the owners of private schools to follow the example of Government that is paying teachers and other public service workers their full salaries during the lockdown period.
“This is, therefore, to remind you that you are required to pay your employees during lockdown period in accordance with employment act and as per agreed employee contract,” noted Kakooza.
The development comes at the time, Private school owners have set pre-conditions for the government ahead of partial school reopening, demanding relief food and exemption from paying local taxes and candidates’ registration fees for national examinations.
The National Private Educational Institutions Association (NPEIA), also rebuked Government for excluding teachers from government’s food aid to vulnerable groups yet they have persevered without pay after schools were abruptly closed in March to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The school owners are demanding Government to test all students for coronavirus before reporting and also ensure government meet the water bills.
In his last address, Museveni revealed that Institutions of learning would resume teaching on June 4, but these would only be limited to candidate classes and finalists.
