Africa-Press – Uganda. EDUCATION | CORRUPTION |Over 48,465 teachers face dismissal over forged academic documents, the education ministry has revealed.The implicated teachers were rejected by the education ministry systems and have been denied practising under the new Teacher Management Information System (TMIS).The system was introduced in October 2018 and all teachers (in private and public schools) were ordered to submit their papers for a new certificate.Going forward, for one to teach at primary, secondary, technical, and vocational institutions, they are required to have the new practising licence.Just like other professions, such as nurses, doctors, and lawyers, without a licence issued by the education ministry, it implies that one is not qualified and, therefore, should not be recruited.Many of those affected had forged academic papers, signatures from training institutions and a small number did not submit verified documents from institutions.The development was confirmed by Patrick Muinda, the assistant commissioner in charge of communication and information systems at the ministry.In an interview with New Vision on Tuesday, Muinda said the system will help eliminate unqualified personnel from the profession.”Many of those affected lied about their institutions of training. We cross-checked with the institutions and established that they have neither studied nor graduated there.”Muinda, who doubles as the ministry’s spokesperson, asked all schools to verify the certificates of teachers from the ministry online portal, before employment. The new system, he said, cannot be corrupted.”There are four levels of verifying documents and these are followed step by step. All the levels are handled by different independent officers through the system,” he said.Dr Jane Egau-Okou, the director of technical vocational education and training (TVET) at the ministry, said TMIS will also help the ministry prepare to replace teachers who are about to retire.”When you have three years left to clock 60 years, the system starts to warn and this helps us to prepare. We did not have data on the number of teachers and their qualifications, but the system is helping us fi x the gaps,” she said.Certificates issuedAs of yesterday, 245,763 teachers, including the rejected ones, had applied for certificates through TMIS. Of these, 161,143 teachers were awarded the new certificates, 22,100 were on the first level of verification.In addition, there are 14,055 others who have gone through the first level of verification and were under the different levels of vetting before they are confirmed or rejected.Muinda said the ministry is also planning to gazette all certified teachers in both private and public schools.The move, which is targeted for the next financial year 2021/2022, will help the country know who is qualified to teach at each level.Old certificates invalidThe ministry has declared the old practising certificates invalid and anyone holding such is advised to apply for a new one through TMIS.”We do not recognise the old certificates. We urge all teachers, both in practice and those outside education, to apply,” he said.Teachers are required to have personal e-mails through which they apply to the ministry for new licence.Once approved, Muinda said, the TMIS automatically generates a code and certificate, which is sent directly to the email through the system.”We sent a communication internationally suspending the old certificates and it has also affected teachers trained here but working abroad,” he said.Why the systemTMIS, which is a digital system, is aimed at digitising the work fl ow of teachers, management process in recruitment, deployment, transfers, appraisals, and appointments.The system will also be used by teachers to apply for leave entitlements, payroll verifications and also undertaking disciplinary actions on teachers.The teacher instructor education and training (TIET) department of the ministry will use information from the teachers to perform in-service training and planning, hence improving the quality of teachers.According to the education ministry, the system provides accurate information regarding demand for teachers at primary, secondary, vocational, and technical levels.
