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Primary kids take part in games during a national championship supervised by sports officers.
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The sports officers in the country have petitioned the speaker of parliament, over what they say is continued unfair salary structure of their job description as professional scientists.
The sports officer is an appointment in the Uganda ministry of public service as a position in the local government service which is aimed at identifying sports talent right from the grassroots.
Under their umbrella National Sports Officers Association (NSOA), the officers through a letter signed by the association general secretary Chleopas Musinguzi and seen by Torch Media, ask the speaker Rt Hon Anitah Among, to come to their rescue.
The letter not only lists sports officers as the category of science professionals neglected in the current salary structure of scientists but also University sports tutors and Physical education and sports staff at ministry of education and sports.
“The purpose of this petition is to request you regularize the salary scale for the above mentioned officers to a science scale band,” Said part of the letter.
But to their dismay still, the speaker has not replied to their letter which has spent almost 2 months on her desk and yet, the budgetary considerations for the financial year 2024/2025 have been passed.
The officers argue basing on the 2011 job descriptions and specifications for local governments that a sports officer must have a bachelor of science in sports science or a bachelor of education with a bias in sports science.
And by academic standards, sports science is an applied health science and it is under the college of natural sciences at Makerere University, faculty of science at Kyambogo University and Gulu University and on admission to sports science at University, a student must have two of these subjects biology, chemistry, physics, agriculture, economics and mathematics.
The sports science course bends majorly on health and physical science and part of management science, all these covering human anatomy, organic chemistry, bio chemistry, bio chemistry of sports science and human physiology and students are awarded a science degree.
It should be noted that in 2018, the sports officers and sports scientists asked the ministry of education and sports for consideration as scientists when it comes to salary scale and remuneration.
However, the officers were excluded after President Museveni’s directive of a pay rise to all scientists in the country starting with 2023/2024 financial year and from here, all graduate non-medical scientists including teachers of science earn 4m while diploma holders earn 3m currently.
Mustafa Nsubuga, the sports officers association chairperson acknowledged, without giving details, that they have been making a follow up since the 2018 petition to the desk of the minister of education and sports Janet Museveni, but have since not received positive results.
Their petition was followed up by an inquiry from the permanent secretary of the ministry, to Makerere University, seeking confirmation whether sports scientists should be categorized as scientists.
In the letter signed by head of Sports Science Annet Nankwanga, she confirmed this.
''Relating to the entry requirements, nature of training undertaken, awards from the university and duties of sports scientists and physical educators, I do confirm that they should be considered as scientists in all appointments at all levels of the referred employment,” stated the letter.
Apparently, a graduate sports officer/physical educator is in the U4L salary scale which is around 800,000 shillings per month, far below the 4m a graduate non-medical scientist earns.
