1,000 teachers have died over the past three years - UNATU

Uganda has lost at least 1,278 teachers due to different ailments including accidents from 2021 to 2023.

This, according to a record from the Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU) Secretariat, has left a gap in the teaching profession.

During a delegate conference in Kampala this week, the UNATU Chairperson, Mr Zadock Tumuhimbise, said, "This is a disturbing statistic and we should deliberately focus on what is claiming the lives of our members and address it."

There were many teachers who died because of stress due to overwhelming unfulfilled demands, he said.

The UNATU branch chairperson of Katakwi, Mr Santus Okot, fears that as a result of the deaths, a looming shortage of teachers in the country is imminent. "The government does not appear to be aware that Uganda could be facing a teacher shortage by 2025. Let's inform them now," he said.

From January to November, 356 teachers have already died, of whom 272 are males, according to UNATU.

A delegate from the Lubaga branch, Mr Nobert Opira, attributes the alarming rate of death among teachers to immense levels of frustration among them due to poor working conditions.

Our income does not match the living standards in Uganda. We must finance our children's education as well as domestic activities, among other things.

As a result of frustration, many teachers live reckless lives. In 2021, 490 teachers died, 126 of them women. In 2022, about 432 teachers died, 104 of them women.

Last month, community members of Ejome Primary School in Uriama Sub-county in Terego district arrested a teacher, who resorted to drinking alcohol during class hours due to frustration.

Community leaders at the school grew more angry when the teacher turned into a nuisance on the school compound by yelling, ultimately destroying students.