Salary Disparity and Teacher Demotivation

This study explores how the salary disparity between STEM and non-STEM teachers in Uganda’s secondary school system demotivates the latter group. Guided by Equity Theory by John Stacey Adams (1963), updated by Aisa et al. (2024), which asserts that individuals are motivated by fairness in the distribution of rewards and outcomes, this study employed a qualitative exploratory research design to examine the experiences of non-STEM teachers regarding salary disparity (Creswell, 2013). It relied exclusively on secondary data sources which included newspaper articles, official Ministry of Education and Sports documents, budget speeches, government commission reports and Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU) reports among others. Data was analyzed using thematic content analysis based on ethical considerations to emphasize credibility, relevance and currency. The findings reveal diminished morale, career decisions for early retirement, increasing levels of inferiority complex and a sharp divide and weakened inter-personal relations between STEM and non-STEM teachers among others. The study recommends an urgent harmonization of the salaries of STEM and non-STEM teachers by the Government of Uganda to undo the demoralization of the latter group.