KAMPALA
\nUganda\u2019s schools reopened to students on Monday, ending the world\u2019s longest school disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
\nThe reopening caused traffic congestion in some areas of the capital, Kampala, and students can be seen carrying their mattresses in the streets, a back-to-boarding school phenomenon not witnessed here for nearly two years.
\nUganda\u2019s schools have been fully or partially shut for more than 83 weeks, the world\u2019s longest disruption, according to figures from the UN cultural agency. The shutdown affected more than 10 million learners.
\nThe East African country of 44 million people first shut down its schools in March 2020, shortly after the first coronavirus case was confirmed on the African continent. Some classes were reopened to students in February 2021, but a total lockdown was imposed again in June as the country faced its first major surge.
\nFor many parents, the reopening was long overdue.
\n\u201cInevitably, we have to open up schools,\u201d said Felix Okot, the father of a 6-year-old kindergartner. \u201cThe future of our kids, the future of our nation, is at stake.\u201d
\nThe country\u2019s schools cannot \u201cwait forever\u201d for the pandemic\u2019s end, he warned.
\nThe protracted school lockdown proved controversial in a country where measures aimed at stemming the spread of the virus were ignored by many. Vaccine skepticism, even among health workers, remains a problem, with growing reports of fake COVID-19 vaccination cards sold in downtown Kampala.
\nMany students returning to school are believed to have had no help during the lockdown. Most public schools, which serve the vast majority of children in Uganda, were unable to offer virtual schooling. The Associated Press reported in November on students in a remote Ugandan town where weeds grew in classrooms and some students worked in a swamp as gold miners.
\nSome critics pointed out that the government of President Yoweri Museveni \u2014 an authoritarian who has held power for 36 years and whose wife is the education minister \u2014 did little to support home-based learning. Museveni justified the lockdown by insisting that infected students were a danger to their parents and others.
\n\u201cThere are many things which can\u2019t be predicted right now. The turnout of students is unpredictable, the turnout of teachers is unpredictable,\u201d said Fagil Mandy, a former government inspector of schools now working as an independent consultant. \u201cI am more worried that many children will not return to school for various reasons, including school fees.\u201d
\nMandy also noted concern that a virus outbreak \u201cwill spread very fast\u201d in crowded schools, urging close monitoring by school administrators.
\nWelcoming the reopening of Uganda\u2019s schools, Save the Children warned that \u201clost learning may lead to high dropout rates in the coming weeks without urgent action,\u201d including what it described as catch-up clubs.
\nThe aid group warned in a statement Monday of a wave of dropouts \u201cas returning students who have fallen behind in their learning fear they have no chance of catching up.\u201d
\nIt remains to be seen how long Uganda\u2019s schools will remain open, with an alarming rise in virus cases in recent days. In the past week health authorities have been reporting a daily positivity rate in excess of 10 percent, up from virtually zero in December. Museveni has warned of a possible new lockdown if intensive care units reach 50 percent occupancy.
\nHoping for a smooth return to school, authorities waived any COVID test requirements for students. An abridged curriculum also has been approved under an arrangement to automatically promote all students to the next class.
\nUganda has received foreign support toward the reopening of schools.
\nThe UN children\u2019s agency and the governments of the UK and Ireland announced financial support focusing on virus surveillance and the mental health of students and teachers in 40,000 schools. They said their support was key for Uganda\u2019s school system to remain open.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KAMPALA Uganda\u2019s schools reopened to students on Monday, ending the world\u2019s longest school disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The reopening caused traffic congestion in some areas of the capital, Kampala, and students can be seen carrying their mattresses in the streets, a back-to-boarding school phenomenon not witnessed here for nearly two years. Uganda\u2019s schools […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-238043","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n