The single most important ingredient in creating an effective school system is the quality of teachers, and this is something that Uganda has to think seriously about if we are to realise Vision 2040.

A 2009 study by the Uganda Economic Policy Research Centre found that the two most important determinants of learning outcomes in primary school were that a child had a desk at which to sit, and that teachers had at least two years of teacher training.

These appear like the most basic of needs, and yet even with government’s best efforts, the latest figures show that one-third of students in primary school do not have adequate sitting space (this drops to 10 per cent in secondary school).

Further, many primary schools have to make do with under/unqualified teachers, and even among those with the minimum qualifications, there is evidence of low levels of subject mastery.

With ever more children gaining access to education under the Universal Primary and Secondary Education programmes, the pressure on existing resources continues to mount. It is understandable, therefore, that the government continues to play catch-up on supplying more and more classrooms and books.

However, while physical resources are necessary and important, teachers are equally, if not more, important if we are going to reap the benefits of education.

In fact, decades of research show that teacher quality is the single most important ingredient in creating effective education systems.

Indeed, it may be more effective to have a good quality teacher giving a class under a mango tree, than have a poor quality or unmotivated teacher in a fully equipped classroom — a well-trained and motivated teacher can be resourceful in the most surprising of ways.

Currently, however, the Ministry of Education is only able to fill only 50% of teacher vacancies in government secondary schools. This is partly because many of the applicants are not qualified, but also partly because there is generally a low response.

Science teachers are particularly hard to find, with as low as 20 per cent of advertised positions being filled in the last recruitment period; this despite a 30 per cent salary differential for science teachers.

Uganda’s vision is to transform itself into a modern and prosperous country by 2040, and one of our main strategies is to leapfrog in the area of Science, Technology, Engineering and Innovation (STEI). With the teacher situation as it is, however, the future of science is not bright.

Even with sciences having been made compulsory up to Senior Four, and mathematics and ICT compulsory up to Senior Six, performance continues to drop, and interest in science along with it.

Additionally, teacher-training institutions across the country are receiving lower and lower numbers of applicants looking to become science teachers; not to mention that the science tutors themselves are a scarce commodity.

The whole situation appears set to set off a vicious circle, with fewer and fewer science teachers being trained, and the pool of scientists growing ever smaller as a result.

Clearly, something has to be done, and fast. I see this as a two-part process, with one leading into the other. Most urgent is to improve the conditions of the current teachers, after which we can have a shot at attracting top talent into the profession.

The public perception of teachers is that they are poorly paid and generally overworked. When I decided to change professions from engineering to education 10 years ago, I received a wide range of reactions, none of which were congratulatory.

What people do not realise is that in the right conditions, teaching can be very rewarding. Pay is definitely a factor, but more important than that is that teachers have very limited opportunities for growth after they enter the profession.

This is in terms of avenues for promotion, for any meaningful pay rises, or even for regular in-service training. Addressing these issues would go a long way towards improving conditions. Countries like Singapore have created very successful models from which we can learn.

Second, government must commit to raising the profile of teachers. This can be done in fairly easy ways, such as schemes to recognise good or innovative teaching. 

Third, teachers feel that they are generally left out of discussions concerning the education system, such as policy formulation, being expected merely to be implementers.

Setting up formal channels to enable continuous consultation and dialogue would create more ownership of reforms, and enhance implementation.

The second part of the process, attracting top talent, will take a bit longer to achieve. Still, I predict that better working conditions will reduce the problems of absenteeism and other such unprofessional conduct, and hopefully restore the image of teachers to its former glory.

In the meantime, work also has to go into raising standards in the pre-service training and in optimising teacher deployment.

Dr Connie Nshemereirwe is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of the Built Environment and the Faculty of Education at Uganda Martyrs University. Twitter: @nshemeshe