President Museveni commissions new buildings at Masaka Secondary School yesterday.
BY KIHEMBO WILBERT
Masaka.
President Museveni has advised students not to join the teaching profession, saying the country currently has enough teachers.
Mr Museveni, however, suggested that those with a passion in education should specialise in teaching science subjects.
“We currently have an oversupply of teachers, some with masters and PhDs, but without having enough students to teach,” Mr Museveni said, adding: “l told the ministry of Education to emphasise the issue of career guidance and if they did, I am also adding my voice to theirs.”
He also asked students to be job creators and forget about joining the public service, saying there are a few slots for them.
“I don’t advise you to think about public service because you may end up into witchcraft in order to remove those who are currently in service,” he added.
The President was yesterday speaking to students of Masaka SS where he commissioned a multi-purpose hall, a computer centre, a 32- classroom block, science laboratory and a library.
The structures were built using a $2million (Shs6.4b) grant from the African Development Bank. The President also broke the ground for the construction of 24-unit staff quarters.
Uganda has only 160,000 teachers on the government payroll. But the teachers have consistently complained of poor pay despite government’s continued allocation of a lion’s share of the Budget to the education sector.
Hajj Musa Mpungu, the school head teacher, applauded government for the project, saying it had enabled them acquire additional classroom blocks to address the problem of congestion.
“This is a gesture worth commending and we pledge to optimally utilise these facilities to bring out all-round citizens,” he said
Although former premier Amama Mbabazi, who is now eying the presidency is seen building his political base among the youth, Mr Museveni avoided speaking politics at the event despite Hajj Mpungu informing him that the school has 2,400 students of voting age.
Founded in 1954, Masaka SS is one of biggest secondary schools in the country with a population of more than 4,500 students .
Contradiction
According to a 2013 ministry of Education report, government needs more than 8,000 teachers countrywide. The latest National Assessment of Progress in Education says the education ministry is grappling with a shortage of science 3,600 teachers.
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