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USSSA president Justus Mugisha hands Rubirizi the boys U16 football title
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By Our Reporter
Sports officers from across the country have converged in Mbarara for their Annual General Meeting (AGM), scheduled for this Friday. Officers from all corners of Uganda, representing 178 local governments, will use the meeting to push for a revision of their salary scale to match that of scientists—a key issue on the agenda.
Wakiso sports officer along with the netball U16 team cerebrate the national trophy. Sports officers are demanding salary increament as scientists.
Operating under the umbrella of the National Sports Officers Association (NSOA), the officers have long campaigned for an upgrade in their pay scale, especially after the President’s directive to enhance salaries for scientists in the education sector and across the broader public service.
Despite repeated efforts, including a petition to the Speaker of Parliament, their pleas have gone unanswered for over a year.
Mbarara City Sports officer Chleopas Musinguzi adressing kid athletes at a national event in Mbarara
The position of sports officer is a formal appointment under the Ministry of Public Service, and it plays a vital role in identifying and nurturing sports talent at the grassroots level.
These officers argue that, based on the 2011 job descriptions and specifications for local governments, the role requires at least a Bachelor of Science in Sports Science or a Bachelor of Education with a bias in Sports Science.
Academically, Sports Science is categorized as an applied health science. It is housed under the College of Natural Sciences at Makerere University, Faculty of Science at Kyambogo University, and Gulu University.
Wakiso sports officer along with the netball U16 team cerebrate the national trophy. Sports officers are demanding salary increament as scientists
Admission to a sports science degree program requires two subjects among biology, chemistry, physics, agriculture, economics, and mathematics.
The curriculum leans heavily on health and physical sciences, with elements of management science. Core modules include human anatomy, organic chemistry, biochemistry, sports physiology, and other sciences—culminating in a science degree upon completion.
Bukomansimbi U14 girls volleyball team receive the trophy and medals
In 2018, sports officers and sports scientists formally petitioned the Ministry of Education and Sports to recognize their role as a scientific profession deserving of equivalent pay.
However, they remain excluded, even after President Museveni’s 2023/2024 directive to raise salaries for scientists. Currently, all graduate non-medical scientists, including science teachers, earn UGX 4 million, while diploma holders earn UGX 3 million per month.
Mustafa Nsubuga, chairperson of the Sports Officers Association, confirmed that they have continuously followed up on the 2018 petition addressed to the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, though no positive outcome has yet been received.
Their case received backing through a letter from Makerere University, in response to an inquiry by the Ministry of Education’s Permanent Secretary. In the letter, Annet Nankwanga, Head of Sports Science at Makerere, confirmed that sports scientists should indeed be recognized as scientists.
“Relating to the entry requirements, nature of training undertaken, university awards, 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,” the letter stated.
Butambala sports officer Mustafa Nsubuga lifts the UPSSA U12 boys' football national trophy last year
Despite their qualifications, graduate sports officers and physical educators remain on salary scale U4L, earning approximately UGX 800,000 per month—significantly less than their fellow scientists.
Cleophas Musinguzi, the host officer for this year's AGM, noted that while several issues are on the agenda, the salary scale concern is expected to dominate discussions.
Torch Media Africa
