School Bursars Push For Salary Increment

Bursars from secondary schools and institutions of higher learning are demanding a salary increment as a key to improving their working conditions and livelihoods.

The bursars, through their umbrella body of Uganda National Bursars Association-UNABA, made the call during their annual general meeting held at the Jinja city’s city-based civil service college on Saturday.

The bursars say that they earn a monthly salary of 500,000 Shillings, which is inadequate to address their financial needs.

Henry Katonto, the chairperson of the bursars association in Eastern Uganda says that their office is highly demanding and they work daily without any breaks, denying them ample time with families and other social responsibilities.

Ben Wanyama, a bursar from Bukanika Seed Secondary School in Hoima City says that most of the bursars face psychological torture from school heads, who are reluctant to facilitate refresher training on updated accounting technologies, which largely affects their efficiency.

Francis Okello, a bursar from Kwera Secondary School in Dokolo district says that the majority of the bursars have acquired higher education levels including CPA and it is unfortunate for them to remain at the previous salary scales when they were still diploma holders.

Meanwhile, a section of bursars has raised concern that persistence in some of these challenges is breeding fertile ground for corruption-related tendencies in a bid to afford decent livelihoods.

Some of these accountants who spoke on condition of anonymity say that they manage a budget in Billions of Shillings and the small pay of between 480,000-500,000 Shillings monthly pushes them to engage in graft.

The Commissioner of Government Secondary Education, Juliet Atuhairwe challenged bursars to avoid succumbing to social pressures from members of the general public.

Atuhairwe also reveals that several bursars have appeared before the rewards and sanctions committee over indiscipline.

-URN