President Yoweri Museveni has said that the Government has started with the salary enhancement of Science teachers due to limited resources. He made the remarks today at Kololo Independence grounds where he presented a lecture of opportunity for head teachers of Lango, Acoli and West Nile Sub regions who have been attending a 9 days retreat at the National Leadership Institute. He also presided over the closing of the retreat that attracted 300 participants.
He said “Issues of salaries will be solved. Due to limited resources we started with the Science teachers. The country has come up because of having established industries and commercial farming. All these ventures need scientists. They need engineers in all the production lines. These lines also give us taxes.” He reiterated that the Government started with the scientists because they are needed immediately.
President Museveni assured the Head teachers that the rest of their colleagues from the other regions would be facilitated to attend a similar training in Kyankwanzi. He observed that the crisis in Africa was that of a peasant producing a peasant. He said that the current challenge was that of people producing for the stomach only. He noted that a person has got a lot of needs. He observed that these days we need good houses, clothing, water, electricity instead of firewood and health care. He said that there was need not only to work for the stomach but also for income.
He said that we must ensure that the society changes. He said that this can be done by changing the production methods. Ha called on the head teachers to facilitate the change of society by sensitizing the Wananchi in the best practices to create social economic transformation. He said that this can be done by encouraging them to promote the cultivation of high value crops under an intensive farming system for those owning small pieces of land. He reminded them to leave extensive farming for the people having large pieces of land.
President Museveni called on them to promote the 4 acres farming model through the production of food, pasture for dairy farming, poultry and fish farming for those near water bodies. He warned the people against the vice of land fragmentation that has been practiced by some families upon the death of their heads.
He called on them to give shares to children as a sure way of addressing the land fragmentation challenge. He reiterated that when the land is fragmented, the owners loose its production capacity.
President Museveni told the participants that correct education is the right kind of transformation. He reminded them that education must be around wealth creation.
He said that the NRM Government launched patriotism clubs in schools many years ago. He observed that it is not correct to have the big number of students in schools without sensitizing them. He noted that this was the background of establishing the patriotism clubs. He said that the Government has chosen to work with the head teachers in its efforts to sensitize the students.
President Museveni informed the participants about the four principles of NRM, namely patriotism, Pan Africanism, social economic transformation and democracy. He observed that under patriotism there is need to love Uganda. He noted that within Pan Africanism we are able to access not only the East African market but that of the rest of Africa. He added that society must change from traditional into the modern ways of life.
He thanked his Private Secretary for Youth Affairs Hellen Seku for floating the idea of sensitizing the students through their head teachers. He was pleased to note that this move goes a long way in transforming the society.
The First Lady who is also the Minister of education, Mrs. Janet Museveni thanked the President for sparing time to address the head teachers. She thanked him for his efforts towards finding solutions of the teachers’ challenges.
She reminded the teachers that they were expected to respond to the call of their duty before their personal ones. She was convinced that the training has enabled them to put our country ahead of their interests. She assured them that the Government was committed to improve their welfare and the quality of education in Uganda. She urged them to take special interest in students in order to eliminate the vice of drugs among some of the young people.
The Commandant of NALI, Brig. Gen. Charles Kisembo saluted for aparing time for the head teachers. He revealed that they covered several topics that include ideology, mind set change and transformation. He was pleased to say that NALI has been identified among the large scale farmers since it got a tractor and other essential facilities.
The Privet Secretary of the President for Youth Affairs who organized the retreat said that the participants would move out as the Government’s Ambassadors to the people.
The representative of the Head teachers from Lango, Acoli and West Nile sub regions, Peace Pamela Okwir saluted the President for facilitating the retreat. She said that during their training, the participants got it clear that the Government has got a clear model for the transformation of its people.
