According to the new policy, all nursery and primary school teachers will be mandated to have degreesGodlive Baguma, a private primary school teacher in Nansana, has a monthly ritual. When his salary comes, he opens an exercise book and does the maths.“Rent for a single room takes 100,000 shillings. Food takes another 120,000, if prices allow. Then come transport, school fees, airtime, and the little I send to my mother in the village,” he says.By the 12th, most of the roughly Shs400,000 he earns is gone. There is little rest in the job. Even at night, Baguma marks more than 200 exercise books.He is one of thousands of teachers who spend their best years waiting for a place on the government payroll, hoping it will improve their lives. Yet even those already on payroll have their own complaints.As Uganda joins the rest of the world to mark World Teachers’ Day, teachers are being praised for shaping the country’s future. But even as government introduces reforms, questions remain about motivation, welfare, pay, workload and professional status.Suzan Alum, national chairperson of the Private Teachers’ Union, describes a mixed picture.“On one hand, we have seen some progress in recognising the importance of teachers and improving some aspects of the profession. But on the other hand, many teachers are still struggling with low pay, heavy workloads and poor working conditions. So, the status of the teacher in Uganda is a mixed bag,” she says.Muzeeyi Ssebowa, a parent, offers a simple test.“If you want to know the status of the teaching profession today, ask children whether they want to become teachers. In the past, teaching was one of the most respected professions. It attracted some of the best and brightest because it was highly recognised. That has faded,” he says.He sees hope in recent salary improvements and efforts to raise entry standards, but adds: “There could be a better future if these changes are sustained. But for now, I would not say today is the best time for the teaching profession.”The numbersAccording to the Ministry of Education and Sports’ 2025 Education Statistical Abstract, Uganda has 226,771 primary teachers — 149,182 in government schools and 77,589 in private ones. Of the 45,164 primary schools recorded, 32,620 are private and 12,544 government.The pupil-teacher ratio in government primary schools stands at 61:1, compared to 35:1 in private schools.At secondary level, there are 64,975 teachers — 40,629 (62.5%) in public schools and 24,346 (37.5%) in private ones. The student-teacher ratio is 31:1 in government secondary schools and 32:1 in private ones.For a teacher handling large classes, the job goes beyond delivering a lesson. It includes preparing work, marking books, assessing learners, managing discipline, responding to individual needs, completing records and adapting to a new curriculum.Damon Wamara, an education and child rights advocate, says welfare must be treated as part of education quality.“For teachers to shape our futures better, they need fair and timely remuneration and better working conditions. Overwhelming pupil-to-teacher ratios make it hard for teachers to effectively engage all learners,” he says.The private-sector squeezeThe pressure is sharpest in the private sector. Alum says some private-school teachers are paid strictly per lesson, especially in smaller or financially strained schools. Pay then depends on classes taught, with nothing during holidays, examination periods without teaching loads, or when enrolment drops.Combined with absence of formal contracts, delayed payments and no NSSF contributions in some schools, many private teachers are left in a precarious position — trained professionals whose income fluctuates with the timetable.Many private schools are also reluctant to invest in professional development, leaving teachers struggling to keep pace with the new curriculum and its assessment demands.“The new curriculum is retooling the teacher,” Alum says, arguing that professional development should not fall solely on individual teachers.A warning that still holdsThe most comprehensive assessment remains the 2014 UNESCO-supported report, _Teacher Issues in Uganda: A Shared Vision for an Effective Teachers Policy_ (TISSA). Its findings were troubling.“A general feeling of dissatisfaction is present among Ugandan primary teachers. In a survey, 47% indicated that they were dissatisfied with their job and about 78% believe that their colleagues are dissatisfied. Most teachers (84%) would like to leave the profession within two years. Half of the respondents mentioned salary as the main cause of job dissatisfaction,” the report stated.It also found that about 12% of primary teachers were untrained at the time, and that recruitment was largely tied to budget availability rather than actual school needs.Reforms on paper, gaps in the classroomSince then, government has responded with a National Teacher Policy, a Teacher Management Information System, a competence-based curriculum and the Uganda National Institute for Teacher Education (UNITE). Teacher records have been digitised and training reorganised. Parliament has passed the National Teachers Bill, which awaits presidential assent.Among these is the Teacher Incentive Framework, developed in 2018 to address motivation, absenteeism and performance. It identifies professional rewards, financial incentives, accountability pressures and clear expectations as key elements, and recognises that teachers who struggle to meet basic livelihood needs are unlikely to focus on professional development.UNICEF-supported work continues on operationalising it, alongside a rewards and sanctions framework. Yet it has received far less public attention than the National Teacher Policy or the proposed National Teachers Council.That is the paradox: the problem is not whether Uganda has policies, but whether they reach the classroom.Filbert Baguma, UNATU General Secretary, has repeatedly argued that teachers should be supported as professionals rather than treated mainly as a problem to be controlled.“Teachers are overworked, underpaid and undervalued, facing high living costs, salary disparities between science and arts teachers, delayed promotions, inadequate materials and overcrowded classrooms,” he says, calling for fair salary enhancement without discrimination and greater investment in teaching resources.Where it hurtsThe TISSA warning on motivation remains relevant because conditions around the teacher shape what happens inside the classroom. A teacher who attends a workshop on the new curriculum but returns to more than 60 learners faces the same workload. A teacher who upgrades qualifications but sees no real career progression faces another frustration.Parents and learners feel the consequences“I see the teachers trying, but with so many children in one class, how can they give each child attention? When teachers are stressed about money or housing, it shows,” Ssebowa says.Former Permanent Secretary Dr Rose Nassali Lukwago, writing in the TISSA framework, stressed that training coupled with practice is critical to developing “an all-round, empowered, passionate and motivated teacher who can confidently stand before learners.”Acting Education Minister Dr John Chrysostom Muyingo acknowledged the link at the inaugural International Teacher Education Conference last week, saying the quality of the education system depends largely on the quality of its teachers.“These are not isolated decisions. They are part of a broader and deliberate commitment to ensuring Uganda’s teachers are well prepared, professionally supported, and equipped to meet the changing demands of education,” he said.But policies alone, he added, will not improve education unless they translate into changes in classrooms.“Our commitment is therefore not only to develop sound policies, but also to implement them with the seriousness, consistency and determination they deserve,” Muyingo said.-URNThe post Overworked, Underpaid: The Daily Struggle of Uganda’s Teachers appeared first on Business Focus.