Kampala, Uganda | URN | The Ministry of Education and Sports has clarified that public school teachers will not be paid based on attendance during the current financial year, calming growing anxiety among teachers following reports of an imminent rollout of the policy. Mary Frances Atima, the Director for Education Standards, said discussions on the proposal are still ongoing, and no implementation timeline has been approved.
The clarification follows concerns sparked by proposals to link teachers’ salaries to attendance records captured through digital monitoring systems. The proposal was first presented by Raymond Pedo, a Principal Human Resource Officer at the Ministry of Education, during the Education Service Commission’s annual performance review.
He outlined plans aimed at strengthening accountability among public school teachers. Central to the proposal is the Teacher Effectiveness and Learner Achievement (TELA) system, a smartphone-based platform designed to monitor teacher attendance using GPS and biometric technology. The system records teachers’ reporting and departure times and tracks whether scheduled lessons are conducted.
Under the proposed arrangement, TELA data would eventually be linked to the government payroll system. Teachers who meet at least 95 percent attendance in a month would qualify for full pay, while those who fail to meet the threshold could face salary deductions unless they provide valid explanations. The proposal has, however, faced resistance from education stakeholders and teachers, who argue that the ministry should first address long-standing structural challenges in the education sector.
Education expert and Uganda National Teachers’ Union founder Teopista Birungi Mayanja described the proposal as premature, saying the government should prioritize improving teacher welfare, staff housing, and school management systems before introducing punitive attendance measures. Stakeholders have also questioned the reliability of digital attendance systems, especially in rural schools where internet connectivity and device access remain limited. Atima acknowledged the concerns but noted that the proposal aligns with existing public service regulations based on the “no work, no pay” principle.
She explained that integrating TELA into the payroll system would strengthen enforcement of existing attendance requirements rather than introduce a completely new policy. Current public service guidelines already require local governments to submit monthly attendance returns through the Human Capital Management System, with salaries withheld in some districts for officers who miss work without explanation.
The ministry says the move toward biometric and digital systems is intended to address weaknesses associated with manual attendance registers, including proxy sign-ins and falsified records. Teacher absenteeism remains a major challenge in Uganda’s public education system. Studies, including World Bank Service Delivery Indicators, estimate absenteeism rates at between 27 and 30 percent in public primary schools.
Education experts say persistent absenteeism contributes significantly to poor learning outcomes, with many pupils unable to read and comprehend simple stories by the end of Primary Three. Factors commonly linked to absenteeism include low motivation, inadequate housing for teachers posted to remote areas, transport challenges, heavy workloads, and weak supervision systems. Some teachers are also reported to prioritize private school jobs where attendance monitoring is stricter.
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