Education and Sports Minister Janet Museveni has directed line commissioners to ensure that thousands of teachers and head teachers who have stayed on stations (schools) for long are transferred so as to improve the provision of primary and secondary education in the country.

Janet Museveni, who is also the Ugandan first lady, was concerned that the ministry had taken long without transferring teachers.

This has been blamed on the Covid19 pandemic which disrupted learning as well as the gaps in funding since transfers require money to be facilitated.

According to Sam Kuloba, the Commissioner for Higher Education at the Ministry of Education and Sports, Minister Janet Museveni has made it clear that the transfers must happen as soon as possible.

“The Honorable Minister of Education has informed us that we must transfer all teachers, more especially those who have overstayed at the same duty station,” Kuloba said while opening the annual Association of Secondary School Head teachers of Uganda (ASSHU) workshop at Lion of Judah High School in Kayunga on July 06.

Commissioner Kuloba also issued a warning to headteachers who have made it a habit to use to transfers to get rid of teachers they have bitterly exchanged or disagreed with.

Kuloba also told the headteachers to desist from troubling school boards of governors and sending them to the Ministry of Education and Sports to ask for teachers. He insisted it was the role of headteachers to write to the ministry requesting for teachers.

Regarding the time when the mass transfer of teachers and headteachers is going to take place, Commissioner Kuloba said: “We are going to effect the directive [by Minister Janet Museveni to transfer teachers and headteachers] later this year.”

Meanwhile, the Education Ministry is currently recruiting top officials, government college tutors and principals.