Because we are, the nation is | Monitor – Monitor
By Guest Writer
Let me tell you a story of a Ugandan Arts teacher from experience. I was recruited as a civil servant (education officer/ teacher) three years ago. It was a really competitive job offer that involved aptitude tests as well as oral interviews.
Having gone through that cumbersome process, I felt like my future had started in the teaching profession.
I am an Arts teacher who earns a net salary of Shs790,131, living in Kampala the capital city of the country. I contribute Shs150,000 towards an insurance policy.
I also pay Shs150,000 to rent (a modest single room). I spend on average Shs10,000 per day which totals up to about Shs300,000 per month on just feeding (cheapest meals within the suburbs). This leaves me with about Shs190,000 to keep myself alive until the next salary pay cheque.
This salary breakdown means that I don’t have to fall sick no matter what (if that’s possible), I don’t have a family that I look after (wife, children or dependents), I will not buy that nice shoe or cloth, I won’t be able to access data for my phone (it’s a necessity for the current global trends), I can’t have family emergencies or even do other small personal welfare things like going to the salon, buying soap, paying for water and electricity bills. All these, I have to manage them with the remaining Shs190,000. Mind you, this is an expenditure of a teacher who has no family that he or she is looking after.
I would have loved to divulge into the prices of soap, sugar, salt, water and electricity bills, costs of medication and increasing costs of transport but that is self-explanatory given the way the economy has been handled in the country. Mr President Sir, I can highly bet that any of the people around you know the unit costs of the above-mentioned items.
Some unanswered questions here to those that care: Are all teachers in Uganda happy? Can they sustain themselves and their families in this country? Why has the cry of an Arts teacher been ignored in this nation? If they are poor, are the future Ugandans safe? What kind of products will such a teacher produce? Don’t they deserve to benefit from the education they got from this country?
Think about the cry of the Arts teacher for impoverishment is the last nail in the coffin of this nation.
Arnold Paul Mutegeki, [email protected]
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