After a devastating -2 year Covid -19 pandemic lockdown Uganda had schools reopened on Monday even when hundreds of private school owners had abandoned the sector altogether .
Many parents still struggling to recover from the effects of the global -novel Covid situation could not raise all the needed school fees for their children and schools authorities accepted students on part payment terms.
Several government aided schools were yet to receive funds for renovation and improving the learning environment as most schools spent the first day of learning cleaning up classrooms some with anthills and trees .
An estimated 15 million learners were expected to return to school but in some cases especially in the remote areas there was low turn up of pupils and students – many of whom abandoned education for small businesses while others were reported pregnant and child mothers .
At least the re-opened schools managed to cope with the SOPs set up by government through the Ministry of education to stem the spread of the virus especially the latest Omicron variant which is said to spread a terrific rate .
Education and health experts cautioned both the schools managers and parents not to panic in case of infections noting that with 2 years running now -Covid has become an endemic and its here to state for a long haul .
Uganda’s shutdown, instituted shortly after the first Covid cases were detected in the country, was the longest of all, UNESCO said — affecting 10.4 million students — and the duration has been the subject of debate, domestically and internationally. The rest of Uganda’s economy is set to fully reopen in a fortnight.
