Teachers’ House, Kampala | 17th July 2026
The Uganda National Teachers’ Union has held a consultative meeting with tutors from teacher training colleges across the country, amid continuing reforms in Uganda’s education sector.
The meeting, held at Teachers’ House on 17th July 2026, brought together 41 tutors for discussions on policy changes, professional welfare, union representation and the future of teacher education.
The engagement was intended to give tutors space to raise concerns, understand emerging reforms and reflect on their role as teacher educators.
The tutors were also taken through the work and direction of the Union, including its mandate to advocate for improved living and working conditions for teachers.
‘Teacher educators must take their place’
UNATU General Secretary, Baguma Filbert Bates, said the meeting was part of efforts to help tutors become better teacher educators in a changing education environment.
He said tutors occupy an important position in the teaching profession because they shape the next generation of teachers.
He noted that the education sector was experiencing several reforms, transitions and policy shifts, making it important for tutors to remain informed and organised.
The General Secretary also warned against misinformation in the public domain, especially on education policies, pension reforms and teacher welfare issues.
He said teachers and tutors must rely on official UNATU platforms for accurate information and updates.
Pension, appointments and welfare concerns
During the meeting, the General Secretary explained the background to the new contributory pension scheme introduced by Government.
He also spoke about concerns arising from the various transitions affecting teacher training institutions, including issues around appointment regularisation for tutors.
He noted that the Education Service Commission still has several matters to address, especially where appointments were made under different arrangements during previous transitions.
He encouraged tutors with appointment-related concerns to come forward early so that their issues can be captured and followed up before it is too late.
The meeting also discussed divisions within the education sector, including salary disparities and the emergence of competing groups that may weaken teachers’ collective voice if they do not stay united.
Teacher deaths raise concern
The General Secretary also raised concern over the number of teachers the Union has lost in recent years.
He referred to the deaths recorded in 2025 and noted that between January and June 2026, the Union had lost 268 members alone.
He said the deaths showed a gender pattern, with male teachers accounting for the larger share.
He urged tutors and teachers to take wellbeing more seriously and to support stronger Mental Health and Psychosocial Support interventions across the profession.
Financial pressure and SACCO awareness
The meeting also discussed financial pressure among teachers.
The General Secretary said some teachers had been exploited by financial institutions and needed better support to make informed financial decisions.
Participants noted that awareness of the UNATU SACCO remained limited among tutors, including how to access its services.
In response, the General Secretary encouraged tutors to learn more about the SACCO on the UNATU website and consider it as one of the safer avenues for financial support and savings.
Tutors document institutional challenges
In the second session, facilitated by the Programme Officer, participants were divided into five groups.
Each group selected a chairperson and a speaker before documenting challenges affecting tutors and their institutions.
The groups were guided to identify the challenge, why it is a challenge, who is affected, which institutions are affected and how often the issue occurs.
Among the concerns raised were salary disparities, appointment regularisation, uncertainty following the rationalisation of core Primary Teachers’ Colleges, workload pressures, limited clarity on policy reforms, inadequate communication, welfare concerns and low awareness of Union services.
The session was intended to help UNATU identify priority issues for advocacy and agree on practical recommendations and next steps.
Tutors welcome the engagement
By the end of the consultation, participants expressed appreciation to UNATU for creating a platform where tutors could speak openly about their concerns.
They said the meeting had helped them better understand the Union, its services and the direction it is taking.
Some tutors acknowledged that they had limited knowledge about UNATU’s work and called for more continuous engagements with tutors and other teacher educators.
They pledged to become good ambassadors of the Union in their colleges and to share information with colleagues.
The General Secretary said the concerns raised would inform further engagement and advocacy on issues affecting tutors, teacher training institutions and the wider teaching profession.
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