By Weswa Ronnie
MBALE
The Education and Sports Ministry has asked the Public Service Ministry to recruit staff for the Professor Dan Nabudere Memorial Institute in Sironko District.
This decision comes after a visit by Sironko district officials to the Ministry of Education, where they pushed for the recruitment of necessary staff to support the growing institution.
Professor Dan Nabudere Memorial Institute, located in Buyobo Sub County, was founded in 2023 with a vision to address youth unemployment in the Bugisu region.
The institute offers various vocational courses such as mechanics, carpentry, engineering, tailoring, and computer science. Despite its promising mandate, the institution has struggled with a severe shortage of staff, which has impacted its ability to deliver quality services.
In the 2023/24 financial year, Sironko district received 600 million Shillings for staff recruitment at the institute. However, due to new guidelines from the Ministry of Public Service, which now oversees recruitment for higher learning institutions, the funds were returned to the national treasury. This shift in responsibility placed recruitment under the Ministry of Education’s direction.
Following the swearing-in ceremony of the 12-member board on Saturday, the newly appointed board members, along with the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Nelson Kirenda and Principal Thomas Angulo traveled to the Education Ministry to request that Public Service be allowed to recruit staff for the institute.
The delegation explained to the Minister that the institute currently relies on a small number of government staff, with the rest paid by parents, a situation that has proven costly for the institution. The CAO noted that the institute spends 6.8 million Shillings per month on salaries for 21 teaching and non-teaching staff, a burden that is unsustainable for the growing institution.
Kirenda further emphasized that the institute requires 33 staff members, including 28 teaching staff, an accountant, a driver, a storekeeper, and two cooks, all to be paid by the government. He also mentioned that the Minister of Higher Education, after their meeting, instructed the Ministry of Public Service to advertise the positions not only for Professor Nabudere Memorial Institute but also for Maumbe Memorial Institute in Bungokho Sub County, Mbale District, and other institutions across the country.
In his media briefing on Wednesday, Kirenda confirmed that the recruitment process will begin soon, and once completed, the Ministry will send the names of the recruited staff to Sironko District for placement. Angulo expressed his gratitude for the Minister’s directive, assuring parents that they will see new staff at the institute before the end of the year.
