BACK TO SCHOOL
… Ugandan children back in classes after nearly 2-year closure due to Covid-19
KAMPALA – Uganda ended the world’s longest school closure yesterday, ordering millions of students back to the classroom nearly two years after learning was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Students poured through school gates that had been closed in March 2020 when Covid-19 swept the globe, greeting teachers and friends after 83 weeks outside the classroom.
“I am so happy because I was missing school, my teachers, my friends and my studies,” 10-year-old Nawilah Senkungu said at Nakasero Primary School in Kampala, where teachers encouraged students to wear face masks and wash their hands.
Education Minister John Muyingo said all primary and secondary students would automatically resume classes a year above where they left off, and urged schools to follow health protocols.
“All schools have implemented guidelines and standard operating procedures to ensure the safe return of children to schools, and measures have been put in place to ensure those who don’t comply do so,” he said in an interview.
But for some parents, the return to school has been difficult after the economic pain caused by pandemic curfews and lockdowns.
Everyln Nyakato, a salon worker and 42-year-old single mother of five, said she worried about covering fees and other school costs.
“Even before the Covid-19 outbreak, I was struggling to pay school fees. Since the pandemic, I was out of work as the government closed our businesses,” she said at a crowded bus stop in Kasubi, a suburb of Kampala.
“I know I am not alone in this… it’s a nightmare for us, especially the poor.”
Muyingo said any schools demanding fees above pre-pandemic rates would be sanctioned.
The closures affected at least 10 million primary and secondary pupils and lasted 83 weeks, according to the UN’s education and cultural body Unesco.
Children’s rights groups had criticised the extreme length of the shutdown, warning that closures had far-reaching consequences for learning and put vulnerable students at higher risk of child marriage or forced labour.
“We can’t let this happen again. We must keep schools open for every child, everywhere,” the UN children’s agency UNICEF said on Twitter.
The charity Save the Children said students would struggle after falling so far behind, and warned there could be high dropout rates in coming weeks unless special efforts were made to help the youngsters adapt.
Remote learning was available only for the privileged few during Uganda’s school closures. – AFP.
BACK TO SCHOOL
