Rewards and Staff Retention in Private Secondary School; A Case of Selected Secondary Schools in Lira City, Uganda

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between rewards and staff retention in private Secondary Schools in Lira City. Specially, the study sought to: explores professional development opportunities and staff retention in private Secondary Schools in Lira City, establish the relationship between recognition and staff retention in private Secondary Schools in Lira City and. to assess the relationship between salary bonuses and staff retention in private Secondary Schools in Lira City. The study employed descriptive, correlational, and crosssectional survey design; employed both qualitative and quantitative techniques approaches from sample size of 118 participants selected using purposive and simple random sampling techniques. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources, utilizing questionnaires, interview guides, and documentary checklists. The correlation between professional development opportunities and staff retention in private secondary schools in Lira City was (r=0.489) and was significant. This correlation indicates that as professional development opportunities increase, staff retention in the city also improves. The correlation between recognition and staff retention in private secondary schools in Lira City was (r=0.749) and significant as well. This strong positive correlation shows that as recognition increase, staff retention in the city also improves significantly. The correlation between salary bonuses and staff retention in private secondary schools in Lira City was (r=0.721) and also significant. This positive correlation indicates that as salary bonuses increase, staff retention in the city also improves significantly. Based on these findings, recommendations are provided to enhance staff retention effectiveness in private secondary schools in Lira City, emphasis should be on strengthening professional development opportunities practices, empowering recognition, and fostering collaborations with salary bonuses. These findings contribute to the understanding of rewards and their impact on staff retention in private secondary schools settings, offering insights for policy makers and practitioners to improve governance processes and stakeholder management strategies.