As students report back to school on Monday, the future of the third school term is hanging in the balance after the Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU) declared a nationwide strike starting September 15, 2025.

The union has told teachers across the country to stay away from classrooms, piling pressure on government to resolve long-standing salary disputes.

For years, teachers have complained about unequal pay, especially between those teaching sciences and those teaching arts.

The gap has sparked anger and repeated strikes, but promises of change have not yet been fulfilled.

UNATU general secretary, Filbert Baguma, said the decision to strike came after three years of fruitless talks with government.

“Despite numerous reminders, petitions, and formal letters to the Office of the President, the head of Public Service, and relevant ministries, government has failed to provide a clear plan to address these disparities,” Baguma said during the announcement.

The union’s last major strike in 2022 ended after a meeting with President Yoweri Museveni, who insisted salary increments were only possible for science teachers at the time. Arts teachers suspended their strike then, hoping for negotiations to bring fairness, but Baguma says patience has now run out.

“Teachers have waited patiently, but government has remained indifferent. Industrial action remains the only option left,” he added.

He also warned against threats or harassment of striking teachers, stressing that the action is legal under Ugandan and international labour laws.

The government has defended its position on prioritising science teachers. In several speeches, President Museveni has said the policy is meant to boost science and technology for national development. Only last week, during a patriotism training for teachers at Ntare School in Mbarara, Museveni repeated that salary enhancements would begin next year.

Baguma, however, dismissed the pledge. “The teachers at that event do not represent the entire workforce. No official communication has been made to all teachers,” he said.

Earlier this year, the Uganda Professional Humanities Teachers Union staged its own strike, which ended after a meeting with Museveni at State House. That engagement produced promises of tax relief and a Shs 20 billion fund for arts teachers’ SACCO, but the tax relief has never been implemented.

The numbers reveal the depth of the problem. According to government records, graduate science teachers earn a gross salary of Shs 4 million a month, taking home about Shs 2.8 million after tax. Graduate arts teachers, by comparison, take home as little as Shs 672,000. Diploma-level science teachers earn about Shs 1.54 million, while diploma-level arts teachers survive on as little as Shs 521,500.

The ministry of Finance says raising salaries for the 17,000 arts teachers to the same level as science teachers would cost the country Shs 509 billion each year.

With schools set to open in just a few days, the strike threatens to disrupt learning for millions of students. Parents, learners, and education officials are waiting to see if government and UNATU will meet again to avoid a crisis.

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