This study was carried out to examine the effect of salary payment on staff retention in the private primary schools within Kampala City. This trails the Kampala District education annual report of 2016 which highlighted that many teachers in private primary schools were constantly changing schools or quitting the teaching profession, were involved in rampant part-timing, lacked a sense of belonging, and had a low commitment at school.

The results indicate that teachers considered their pay as moderate (M = 2.83, StD = 0.86), unable to fully cover all the needs, which implies that there is a need to enhance salary payment. The overall results indicate a moderate level of staff retention among teachers in the selected private primary schools in Kampala City (M = 2.91, StD = 0.82), and the level of uncertainty on belonging to a school was high (43%). There is sufficient evidence that the level salary pay related to the level of retention demonstrated amongst the teachers in private primary schools in Kampala City (r = 0.867; n = 193; p = 0.000 < 0.05), such that the higher the salary pay, the higher the retention levels and vice versa.