By Our Reporter
NGORA
Secondary school teachers in Ngora district have gone for at least two months without salary prompting demonstration at the district headquarters where they demanded unpaid salaries since January 2024, with some saying they have not been paid since September 2023.
They disgruntled teachers marched to the district headquarters holding placards where they highlighted grievances over what they called ‘selective payments favouring headteachers’ on Thursday, 4th April, 2024.
One of the teachers who preferred anonymity says they are against the selective mode of payment where some teachers within secondary are paid, never missing salaries and yet some of them are starved to 2 to 3 months without salary.
“Every time we took a move to demonstrate over intentionally unpaid salaries, our headteachers are summoned to the district cautioned to come and threaten us not to take up such actions,” he adds.
The teachers demand the accounting officer to clarify to the general public why he doesn’t communicate to secondary teachers whenever they are about to miss salaries.
However, a letter seen by this publication written by Francis Opolot, Ngora Chief Administrative Officer on the 12th March, 2024 to the Ministry of Finance shows that the district authorities have exhausted the Wage bill for the Secondary category.
Opolot is requesting the Ministry of Finance to permit the district to use the surplus wage bill for other categories to pay off the Secondary teachers.
“The purpose of this letter is to request you to authorize us to use the wage surplus in various payroll categories to pay the months of February and March to settle the disgruntled staff (Secondary School teachers) in that category,” reads Opolot’s letter.
