Deaths among Ugandan teachers caused by poor conditions – Union

The Uganda National Teachers Union reported that many teachers have died because they were not healthy due to bad working conditions.

The union said that over 1,000 teachers in the country have passed away in the last two years. Uganda might not have enough teachers by 2025 because bad working conditions are causing many teachers to leave the job.

These deaths happened because of how people work and live. “Work can be really overwhelming and stressful,” said Baguma Filbert Bates, the General Secretary of Uganda’s National Teachers Union on BBC’s Newsday programme.

He said that Ugandan teachers have too much work to do because there aren’t enough of them, and they only get paid about 490,000 Ugandan shillings ($125; £100) each month. Bates thinks that the money is not enough to support teachers and their families in today’s economy.

He said the union keeps asking the government to make teachers’ lives better, so that students can get a better education.

Whenever there is something that politicians think is really important, they always manage to find the money for it. “So, we cannot say that the Ugandan child should be harmed because of the economy,” Mr Bates stated.