Da Dona
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- Dec 16, 2025
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More than 120 non-teaching staff at Makerere University have petitioned Yoweri Museveni, accusing the university of unfairly implementing a government-funded salary harmonisation exercise that they say left many employees behind despite billions of shillings being allocated for the process.
According to the affected workers who include administrative assistants, laboratory assistants, senior clerical officers, and administrative secretaries , staff at other public universities received upgraded salaries and job grades, while many at Makerere continue to earn lower salaries despite carrying out higher-level responsibilities.
The workers, through the Public Universities Non-Teaching Staff Executive Forum (PUNTSEF), say the salary harmonisation exercise began in 2019 to eliminate disparities between Makerere staff and employees at other public universities. During the 2024/2025 financial year, the government allocated Shs 61.13 billion for harmonisation across public universities, with Makerere receiving Shs 12.64 billion to align the salaries and job structures of 1,099 non-teaching staff.
Alleged Irregularities
The petition alleges that:
•Administrative Assistants who qualified to become Assistant Academic Registrars were instead redesignated as Assistant Administrative Officers, a lower-paying position.
•Nine Senior Clerical Officers remain on PU14 (about Shs 1.3 million) instead of moving to PU10 (about Shs 3.33 million).
•Twenty-three Laboratory Assistants were approved to become Assistant Technicians, but continue earning their old salaries instead of the harmonised pay of about Shs 3.48 million.
•Twenty-eight Assistant Administrative Secretaries reportedly never received salary enhancements despite funds being allocated for them.
The staff argue that many of them occupy "dead-end" positions with limited opportunities for promotion and say the delays have hurt morale and institutional efficiency.
Questions Over Unspent Funds
The petition also raises concerns over Shs 1.7 billion from the university's harmonisation allocation that was reportedly returned to the Consolidated Fund instead of being used for the intended salary adjustments.
The workers say they have held several meetings with university management since December 2024, but the matter remains unresolved. They are now seeking President Museveni's intervention to ensure the harmonisation is implemented fairly and in line with the approved government structure.
Source: The Observer
