Following months of strife with teachers of the humanities, the government has set aside over half a trillion shillings to enhance their pay in the new budget.
The Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Mr Henry Musasizi, announced that the money would be shared out among primary and secondary teachers of the arts and those covering vocational education (TVET).
It is the culmination of negotiations between teachers’ unions and the government over the last two years, in which they have called for the equalisation of their pay with their science counterparts.
The move is part of Shs 6.66 trillion allocation to the education and sports sector in the 2026/2027 financial year.
According to Mr Musasizi, it is planned to further improve the education of Ugandans. It is an increment on the about Shs 5.04 billion allocated to the sector in the previous financial year.
Presenting the Financial Year 2026/27 National Budget at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds on June 11, Mr Musasizi said the education sector remains central to Uganda’s agenda of nurturing a skilled workforce capable of triggering economic growth and development.
“Education remains the most powerful instrument for social mobility and long-term economic transformation,” he said
According to him, the priorities for this financial year include expanding access to quality Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education(USE), strengthening Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and vocational education, improving teacher welfare and training, with emphasis on pre-primary teachers;
In the area of Curriculum reform, the sector will focus on strengthening public universities and research institutions; and completing critical sports infrastructure for AFCON 27.
In a bid to fulfil President Museveni’s recent pledge to increase the salary of arts teachers following salary enhancement strikes, a total of Shs 568.65 billion has been allocated to enhance salaries for primary school teachers and arts teachers in secondary schools and Business Technical and Vocation Education Training (BTVET) institutions on government payroll.
The minister also highlighted the achievements made by the sector during FY 2025/26: “To expand access to education, government continued financing Universal Primary Education (UPE) and
Universal Secondary Education (USE). Approximately 9.52 million learners benefited from UPE, while about 995,116 learners benefited from USE and Universal Post O-Level Education and Training.
Government completed construction of 90 additional seed secondary schools, expanded 54 existing secondary schools, and operationalised 259 seed schools,” he explained.
He also noted that in preparation for AFCON 2027, Hoima Stadium has been completed, upgrades to Namboole Stadium are progressing well, and other required tournament facilities remain on schedule.
In addition, the construction of Akii-Bua Stadium is on schedule. “Government has intensified investment in STEM, technical and vocational education, industry-linked skills development and digital literacy,” he explained.
Commenting on the 25 percent salary enhancement for arts teachers and teachers of humanities, the Secretary General of Uganda Liberal Teachers Union, Mr Jackson Erima, said the increment is a drop in the ocean and that arts teachers will continue demanding for more given the high cost of living.
“Government has given us a salary increment with one hand and is taking it with the other hand. Transport has gone up and the prices for second-hand clothes that the teachers have depended on for years have also gone up, ” Mr Erima said.
He also requested that the Shs 20 billion that the president pledged to support arts teachers SACCOS that missed out should be released and given out to the beneficiaries.
During the 2024 /2025 financial year, the government allocated Shs 20 billion, which was shared among SACCOS belonging to three teachers’ unions.
They include the Uganda Professional Science Teachers Union (UPSTU), Uganda Private Teachers Union and the Uganda Liberal Teachers Union.
Mr Ausi Kibowa, the Programme Manager, Economic and Social Protection at the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights, welcomed the increment in education sector budget allocation but said the sector still needs more financial support to improve the quality of education.
On the issue of the teachers’ salary enhancement, Mr Kibowa said, “It has been long overdue. The last time we heard about a salary increment, it was for science teachers, and it created disparity.”
A primary school teacher who preferred to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the issue said the 25 percent increment will disappear in taxes and requested that government consider offering a meaningful increment.
“I know all this will vanish in taxes. This is a peanut. We need to be appreciated like the science teachers because we all matter,” she said.