The First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Kataaha Museveni, on Tuesday directed teachers on the government payroll to stop teaching in private schools and urged private schools to stop hiring them.

The minister made the remarks while officiating at the inaugural National Private Education Policy Dialogue in Kampala.

"You leaders in government schools shouldn't allow them to work in private schools because they do a bad job in both," Kataaha said.

She noted that this practice is compromising the quality of education, as teachers in government schools often rush to attend to private school duties, putting themselves under pressure.

The Chairperson of the National Private Education Institutions Association, Hasadu Kirabira, acknowledged that private schools heavily rely on trained government teachers to meet their staffing needs.

"Provided that teachers are qualified for their lessons, we don't see why they should be restricted to one school where they may not be fully utilized, yet their services are needed elsewhere," Kirabira said.

Kirabira also emphasized the need to address salary disparities for science teachers across all levels of education, from primary to secondary schools.

"We should address the issue of science teachers and improve science education in our schools right from primary level to tackle this challenge," Kirabira added.

Currently, part-time science teachers in private schools earn between Shs 300,000 and Shs 500,000 per month, while their counterparts in secondary schools earn between Shs 300,000 and Shs 3 million, depending on the school and subject taught.

Some private schools pay government-employed teachers between Shs 25,000 and Shs 50,000 per lesson, a practice believed to affect their commitment to their duties in government schools.