“When the dam was going to break we didn’t see you going to read Shakespeare from there.”
By Leonard Kamugisha AKIDA
President MUSEVENI has called up on Members of Parliament to support the idea of paying Scientists in the country as one of the ways of motivating them.
In his Labour Day Celebrations Speech today at State House Entebbe, the President expressed that the Uganda has been mishandling scientists stating that there’s a need to pay increase on their payments.
”We are mishandling scientists, these people must be laid first and I’m tired of bagging, ” Museveni said.
Citing out Science Teachers in Upper Primary, Secondary schools and higher institutions of learning, Museveni said these must be paid more than their arts counterparts.
“When the dam was going to break we didn’t see you going to read Shakespeare from there,” Museveni blasts Arts and Humanities Teachers.
For many times, the President has always appealed to MPs to support the proposal of increasing salary scales for Science Teachers in Schools because of their innovations.
On April19th,2020, while addressing the nation on COVID-19 updates, President Museveni is remembered to have emphasized on the pay increanments of scientists. In his address, he urged politicians, bureaucrats to support the idea.
This is not the first time the president emphasizes on paying scientists higher than other categories of workers.
In 2018 alone, Members of Parliament belonging to the NRM party are recalled to have embarrassed the president when they opposed to his idea during the party caucus st State House Entebbe.
According to sources, he had through the Parliament’s Education Committee proposed sought to increase the teacher’s salaries from Shs 600,000 to Shs 1.9m & Shs1.7m for graduate and diploma holders. The MPs however, reasoned the proposal was discriminatory and recommended that the increment also be extended to arts teachers.
The teachers umbrella UNATU also opposed the idea.
Today, the president noted that most Medics own private clinics due to the low payments by the government. He believes, the pay rise would help in reducing brain drain in the science professions.
Its not clear if the President’s call can now be heard.
