For years, Uganda’s brightest university students have steered away from education degrees, gravitating instead toward medicine, law, and engineering — courses perceived to offer better financial returns. The government is now moving decisively to change that calculation.
In a landmark pay reform that could reshape both the teaching profession and university enrolment patterns, the government has announced plans to make teachers among the top-earning civil servants in Uganda’s public service — with science teachers on the government payroll set to earn a basic salary of Shs8 million per month.
The plan is expected to be implemented over a period of five years.
What The New Pay Structure Looks Like
The proposed salary enhancement represents a dramatic upward shift from current pay levels across the teaching profession.
Under the new structure, a science headteacher will earn Shs6.5 million, up from the current Shs2.3 million. A deputy headteacher for sciences will take home Shs4.5 million, up from Shs1.7 million. Senior education officers in science will see their pay rise from Shs1.7 million to Shs4.2 million, while education officers move from Shs1 million to Shs4 million. Assistant education officers in science will earn Shs2.2 million, up from Shs933,000. Even laboratory technicians will see their salaries more than double, rising from between Shs795,000 and Shs858,000 to Shs2.2 million.
Humanities teachers are not left out. Senior education officers in humanities will earn Shs1.7 million under the new structure, while the overall plan ensures that headteachers and their deputies across both disciplines earn in the range of Shs10 million, with humanities teachers at least doubling their current pay.
Government Speaks Out
The new pay plan was confirmed by the Minister for Public Service, Wilson Muluri Mukasa, who was unequivocal about the government’s intentions.
“As the Government announced before, we have a pay plan for all categories of civil servants. As for teachers, there is a plan to make them one of the best-paid civil servants,” he said.
Minister Mukasa made the remarks at a sensitisation meeting on the Public Service Contributory Pension scheme held at Las Vegas Hotel in Mbarara, attended by over 100 participants including Chief Administrative Officers, town clerks, hospital directors, and human resource personnel.
Under the contributory pension scheme being introduced alongside the pay reforms, civil servants will contribute 5 percent toward their pension, with the government contributing 10 percent — a shift from the current arrangement in which pension is 100 percent government-funded.
Higher Education State Minister Dr John Chrysostom Muyingo, in a separate interview, explained the philosophy behind the investment in teacher pay, noting that the government treasures the education sector and that the enhancements reflect years of deliberate investment.
He tasked teachers with attending to children, delivering lessons, and serving the country wholeheartedly in return.
The Broader Civil Service Pay Picture
The teacher pay plan does not exist in isolation. Last year, the public service ministry unveiled a broader pay plan that will cover the remaining 66 percent of public servants whose salaries have not been enhanced since 2014. The remaining batch of civil servants will receive at least 77 percent of the pay target within the next four financial years, starting 2026/2027.
Current public service ministry data shows approximately 350,000 civil servants on the government payroll, of whom 54 percent have already had their salaries enhanced. This means 231,000 civil servants are set to benefit from the planned salary increases.
Of these, more than half are primary and secondary school headteachers, their deputies, and teachers for humanities — meaning the education sector stands to be among the biggest beneficiaries of the broader civil service pay reforms.
If implemented in full, the plan will take the country’s total wage bill to Shs10 trillion from the current Shs8.5 trillion.
Other Categories Set To Benefit
Beyond teachers, several other cadres of public servants are in line for significant pay increases under the standardised pay structure.
Arts teachers at secondary schools stand to benefit from a 25 percent increment beginning in the 2026/2027 financial year. Other cadres receiving enhancements include mortuary and cemetery attendants, whose salaries will double from Shs500,000 to Shs1 million per month, plant operators in charge of government ferries who will earn around Shs1 million, and radiology technologists whose pay will rise from Shs2.6 million to Shs3 million.
Non-science assistant commissioners in government ministries and departments, deputy Chief Administrative Officers, and deputy town clerks for districts are also among those set to benefit.
At public universities, vice-chancellors will see a 100% salary enhancement under the new structure, now earning Shs20 million up from Shs12.2 million, while their deputies will earn Shs17.4 million up from Shs10.5 million. Science and non-science professors at public universities will earn Shs15.6 million and Shs14.8 million respectively, while non-science lecturers will earn Shs8.2 million up from Shs7.7 million, and assistant lecturers Shs4.7 million up from Shs4.3 million.
Teachers Welcome The Change
The response from within the teaching profession has been broadly positive, with educators expressing cautious optimism that the reforms could reverse long-standing challenges including absenteeism, part-timing, and the reluctance of top-performing students to consider teaching as a career.
George Andama, the retired headteacher for Mvara Secondary School in Arua, welcomed the plan directly. “It should have happened a long time ago. For a long time, we have been attracting second-class students. Once this plan is implemented, education will become highly competitive at university and we will see more top students offering to enrol and become teachers.”
Another teacher, who preferred anonymity, noted that the pay rise would reduce part-timing and eventually curb the growing trend of teacher absenteeism — a challenge that has long undermined the quality of education delivery across Uganda’s schools.
What This Means For Future Students
For students currently at university or considering their degree options, the implications are significant. If the pay reforms are implemented as announced, a career in teaching — particularly in science — will offer financial returns comparable to many of the professions that have historically attracted Uganda’s most competitive students.
The question of whether top students will begin choosing education degrees over medicine and law may soon have a definitive answer. If the government delivers on this plan, Uganda’s classrooms could look very different within a generation.
