RUKIGA, UGANDA – Public schools across Rukiga district faced a complete shutdown on the first day of the third term, as a nationwide industrial action by the Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU) led to zero percent teacher turnout, leaving hundreds of pupils unattended.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The strike, which resumed today, September 15, 2025, is a dramatic escalation of a long-standing dispute over salary disparities between arts and science teachers, an issue the union claims the government has ignored for over three years.
The current strike action follows a press release issued by UNATU on September 11, 2025, detailing its frustrated efforts to resolve the salary discrepancies.
The union revealed it had sent written requests for meetings with the Office of the President and the Office of the Head of Public Service, and had formally communicated with the Ministries of Public Service and Education & Sports.
Furthermore, UNATU confirmed it petitioned the Equal Opportunities Commission and is still awaiting feedback, after having suspended a planned strike in July 2022 to facilitate negotiations that have since stalled due to a lack of meaningful engagement from the government.
UNATU’s Rukiga branch Chairperson, Mr. Tumuhimbise Moses, told this reporter that the strike will continue until the government takes concrete steps to address salary inequalities.
Cue in: Tumuhimbise on Strike. ENG/RR
Moses, a teacher at Rurangara Primary School, called the pay disparity unbelievable, where arts teachers earn less than a million shillings while their science counterparts earn millions.
“It’s unbelievable for an Arts teacher to be staggering on 700,000 Uganda shillings for secondary teachers and 500,000 Uganda shillings for primary, when their counterparts, science teachers, are up there earning millions,” he said.
When questioned about the inevitable disruption to the school syllabus, Moses acknowledged the professional dilemma but placed the responsibility on the government for its long-time empty promises.
Cue in: Tumuhimbise on syllabus. ENG/RR
The Rukiga Deputy Resident District Commissioner, Tusiime Gedeon, confirmed receiving formal notification of the strike and pledged that the district security team would convene to ensure the situation remains calm.
He also urged the striking teachers to temporarily return to their classrooms as a gesture of goodwill, assuring them that their grievances are being actively addressed at the highest levels of government and that a formal response is imminent.
Cue in: D/RDC Gedeon on Strike. ENG/RR
Twinomuhwezi Davis, a Rukiga Education Officer, reported that in several schools visited across the district, children reported in numbers but found no teachers present to conduct lessons.
He confirmed the district education department had received the strike notices and was compiling a comprehensive report on the situation for upper-level government offices.
Cue in: Davis on the situation. ENG/RR
A spot check at Nyeikanama Primary School revealed a stark picture, where Headteacher Ryamukama Bernard confirmed he and his deputy were the only staff present, with not a single classroom teacher reporting for duty.
“The school saw a total of 125 pupils reporting at the start of the new term,” Ryamukama said, expressing his fear that “with an extended teachers’ industrial action, we are likely to face a total syllabus disruption.”
With classrooms silent and pupils sent back home, the standoff between Uganda’s teachers and the government has reached a critical point, casting a long shadow over the academic term for thousands of students in Rukiga and across the nation.
About the Author
