Kampala Parents school reopen for physical classes after almost two years of Covid closure

Uganda reopened its schools on Monday after the longest pandemic-prompted shutdown in the world, but educators and others say that the closing has taken a lasting toll, eroding decades of classroom gains in the East African nation.

In the mini-survey conducted by the Radio 4 ug team in Kampala, children, parents, and school administrators were expressing happiness and joy as schools were reopening after almost two years of closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

    fresh kid attending a physical class at kampala parents

At Kampala Parents School, A school which had  adopted online classes quickly in the capital of Kampala, the school administrators were strict on following COVID-19 prevention procedures as parents brought in their children.

“All our children have masks, including teachers. We have a sanitizer booth at the entrance of the school so that whoever comes in passes through that booth,” Daphine Kato, the principal of Kampala Parents School.

After the March 2020 closure of learning institutions, the government partially reopened schools and universities to allow final year candidates to sit their final year examinations. In June 2021, all schools and universities were closed as the country faced the second wave of the pandemic.

In August last year medical schools were reopened as a measure to boost the country’s number of health personnel involved in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Institutions of higher learning reopened in November last year.

As schools reopen, apart from the COVID-19 prevention measures, Uganda is putting emphasis on vaccinating about 22 million people or half the country’s population.

The Ministry of Health figures show that as of Jan. 7, about 12 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered since the vaccination exercise started in March last year.

The country has so far registered 153,762 COVID-19 cases, with 98,693 recoveries and 3,339 deaths.