The teachers, who are part of the Uganda Professional Humanities Teachers Union (UPHTU), are unhappy with the government for not increasing their salaries.
They say they will not go back to class unless their monthly pay is raised to match that of science teachers.
This strike could affect the start of the 2025 academic calendar if no agreement is reached soon.
In 2022, the Ugandan government increased the monthly salary of science teachers to Shs4 million. However, arts teachers were left out of that increase. Arts teachers say this is unfair and that they do the same work as science teachers.
The UPHTU wants all graduate arts teachers to be paid Shs4 million per month, just like their science colleagues. They also want diploma-holding arts teachers to earn Shs2 million monthly.
Teachers argue that the current pay is too low to support their families and pay school fees for their own children. Some teachers say they struggle to buy food and other daily needs.
They believe that if they are not paid well, they will not be able to teach properly, and that will hurt students' performance.
UPHTU sent notices to its members weeks ago, warning of the planned strike. The notices told teachers to inform students and for students to tell their parents.
The union also wants parents to speak to religious and government leaders so that the teachers’ demands are heard.
One notice seen by The Pearl Times said:
"Let the teachers inform the students, and the students inform the parents, that the parents should inform bishops, sheikhs, pastors and leaders in government that teachers of humanities/arts starting 6 June 2025 will start their industrial action."
UPHTU leaders say they have talked to government officials from the Ministry of Public Service. These officials promised to discuss the matter with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education.
However, the arts teachers say they have not received any official reply or plan from the government about increasing their salaries.
The union says it gave the government three months to act, but nothing has been done. That deadline ends next week. Now, all UPHTU regional branches have agreed to join the national strike.
President Yoweri Museveni and other officials have previously said that the government cannot increase arts teachers’ pay right now.
They argue that the country does not have enough money. President Museveni also once said that science subjects are more important because they help solve health and economic problems.
He used the example that “Shakespeare’s plays don’t treat sick people.”
This comment made many arts teachers feel disrespected and undervalued. If the strike goes ahead, it may delay the opening of schools or stop classes from happening in many government secondary schools.
These schools are part of the Universal Secondary Education (USE) program and serve millions of students across the country.
Some government sources also told the media that there could be a plan to cut the salaries of science teachers since the government is unable to raise arts teachers’ pay. This idea has caused anger among science teachers, who say their pay should not be touched.
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