Kagadi Teachers Grappling With Loans and Arrests

By Charles Agaba

KAGADI 

Teachers in Kagadi district have decried over accumulating loan Burdens brought about by low pay by government resulting into imprisonment and depression.

Teachers across the world on Wednesday marked their day under the theme “The Transformation of Education Begins with Teachers”.

As teachers celebrated teacher’s day in Kagadi district at St Kizito primary school in Bwikara Sub County, these expressed concern on teachers that are detained in prison over loan burdens

According to Solomon Musinguzi the chairperson Uganda National Teachers’ Union Kagadi branch, currently over 14 teachers in Kagadi are detained in person over loans from financial institutions and money lenders.

He however declined to give out their details to this website.

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Musinguzi said teachers are grappling with low payments by the government hence resorting to loans to run their family responsibilities like school fees, medication among others.

Musinguzi said to solve this burden, teachers in Kagadi will start up a savings scheme or SACCO which will avail teachers with low interest rate funds to get rid over exploitation by other financial institution that results into arrests.

Barnabas Tinkasimire, the Buyaga west Legislator and also the Chief Guest at the event, congratulated and applauded teachers for the great work done towards educating Ugandan children.

Tinkasimire, promised to back up teachers in case the government fails to implement their promise of increasing salaries mostly arts teachers in the next financial year 2023/2024

He further condemned imbalance in paying science and arts teachers hence urging the government to make an agenda to pay every qualified teacher the same pay.

In May this year teachers under their umbrella union UNATU steered an industrial strike over little pay that lasted nearly three weeks.