Angelina Osege the committee chairperson on public accounts committee and woman MP Soroti district

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has said it has discovered that there is alot of rigidity among top managers of the Microfinance Support Centre (MSC) in the transfer of Teacher’s SACCO funds for its operation.

This has prompted the committee to issue summons to managers of the Micro Finance Support Centre to explain why they have refused to hand over 7 billion shillings to teachers SACCO.

The Education Ministry officials led by the Permanent Secretary, Fred Kakooza, had appeared before the Parliament Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to answer audit queries raised in the Auditor General’s report for the financial year 2015/16.

In the financial year 2013/2014 financial year, government pledged 25 billion shillings for the teachers SACCO, which funds were meant to be contributed in 5 years, aimed at improving teachers’ welfare.

A total of 9.3 billion shillings was disbursed to Microfinance in the financial year 2014/2015.

In August 2015, Government took a policy shift over complaints from teachers on how their funds were being managed, demanding to have the monies be channeled through the teachers SACCO.

Microfinance Support Center had issued out 2 billion shillings, and the two bodies agreed to have the financial institution to continue managing the loaned funds, but remit 7.6 billion shillings back to the Sacco.

MPS on the committee discovered that to date the Micro Finance Support Centre has refused to remit the monies to the Teachers SACCO, leaving the two embroiled in a fierce battle.

The Auditor General Report pointed fingers at Microfinance has failed to provide accounts and record of service, leaving uncertainty on how the funds have been utilized.

Angelina Osegge, the committee chairperson put the Ministry of Education bosses to task to explain why the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two bodies still exists.

The Ministry of Education officials led by the ministry’s permanent secretary Fred Kakooza officials told Parliament that despite repeated communications to have Microfinance remit the money to the Teachers SACCO, the entity has refused to heed to the request.

The undersecretary in the ministry of education, Aggrey Kibenge, explained that the memorandum of understanding had provisions of termination, but when they sought advice from the Solicitor General the consequences were that Microfinance Support Centre had already disbursed money they had identified and terminating the contract would present difficulties in collecting..

Ossege who is also the Soroti district Woman MP said that the disbursed funds should have been recovered three years down the road because the memorandum of understanding provided for the teachers paying back the monies within three year.

In response, the Ministry said that terminating the memorandum of understanding would have affected the operations of Microfinance.

Masaka Municipality Member of Parliament Mathias Mpugga

North County Elly Elias Asiku Koboko wondered how terminating the contract would have affected the operations of Microfinance yet the money was meant for teachers.

Ossege noted that there is money lying idle in the Microfinance Support Centre  that has been abused and stubbornly refusing to put it where it belongs.

Masaka Municipality Member of Parliament Mathias Mpugga demanded the Microfinance support centre officials summoned to come and explain why they are holding onto teachers’ funds illegally.

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UNATU General Secretary, James Tweheyo

Leaders of the Teachers union are condemning the upgrading of head teachers in public schools saying the system being used by the Education Service Commission is out of law as it seeks to render most head teachers jobless and now UNATU demands that the commission uses the appropriate channels to enforce upgrades.

According to the general secretary of the union, James Tweheyo, the Education ministry has already issued head teachers and their deputies with notice that those with diplomas are risking losing their jobs noting that they now only require those with degrees to hold the two posts. UNATU also adds that three years have been given to head teachers and their deputies without degrees to upgrade within these years at their costs which the teachers union says will grossly affect the education system of the nation as the schools will be left with no heads to supervise them.

The union also calls for clear explanations from the education service commission for its impromptu acts against the teachers.

Meanwhile, the teachers are warning all districts that have continued to collect funds from teachers in the guise that they are remitting them onto the accounts of the SACCO to halt the exercise saying they are not mandated to do so adding that the collected monies amounting to UGX.1.4bn are not even remitted to the teachers SACCO account.

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According to the Commissioner Physical Education and Sports in the Education Ministry, Lamex Omara Apitta, the old law emphasizes sports leaving out physical activity. If passed, the bill will see professional aerobics instructors in gyms and schools among the physical activities areas. However, the Sports Minister, Charles Bakabulindi advised the citizenry to always go for physical activities as it helps them build strong immunity.

Still, the Commissioner Non-communicable Diseases in the Health Ministry, Dr. Gerald Mutungi said if all Ugandans are taken through the drills government will be able to save some very good money which it has been spending on treating non-communicable disease which come as a result of not having physicals.

This was revealed at a news conference where the government was announcing the launch of the National Physical Gala slated for 14^th June this year.

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The ministry of education and sports has informed the Chief Administrative Officers, district chairpersons, district education officers, municipal education officers, districts security officers, and heads of schools that there will be a national head count exercise for S1, S2, S3, S4, S5 and S6 students on Universal Secondary Education (USE) schools in Uganda.

The permanent secretary of the education ministry, Dr. YK Nsubuga says that there would also be head count for year one, year two, and year three students in primary, technical, and vocational education training institutions participating in the implementation of Universal Post Primary Education and Training programme on Tuesday 27^th march.

He says that the exercise will be conducted jointly with the ministry of education, internal security organisations, and ministry of local government.

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A source in Buganda kingdom headquarters in Bulange Mengo told us on phone today that the kingdom is set to offer 81,000 bursaries to children from unprivileged families in different parts of the country.

One of the officials in the kingdom’s education ministry, Church Ambrose Bukenya tells us that the kingdom is greatly over whelmed by the bursaries the head teachers of the schools have offered to the kingdom of Buganda.

Bukenya says that the 81,000 bursaries are valued at 1.2 billion shillings. To get the bursaries, the applicants have to approach Kabaka’s chiefs in different parts of the country.

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