
Uganda reopened schools on 10th January 2022 after a long closure due to Covid-19 outbreak in March 2020.
The country’s Education and Sports Minister, Janet Kataha Museveni, unveiled the 2022 school calendar during the 28th Education and Sports review event held at Kololo airstrip on December 15, 2021.
It features three terms of at least 14 weeks each and a three-week holiday break before the conclusion of the academic year in December 2022.
The first term runs from January 10th to April 15, 2022.
The second term will begin on May 9th and end on August 12, 2022, while the third term will begin on September 5th and end on December 9, 2022.
“All pre-primary, primary and secondary schools shall re-open on January 10, 2022,” the minister said.
Uganda broke the world record for longest school closure due to Covid-19.
When the deadly virus invaded the world in 2019, Uganda, like many others, went into a lockdown to curb the spread of the virus.
Education was one of the most affected sectors with over 15 million students in Uganda sent home due to safety concerns in March 2020.
The government had earlier tried to do a phased re-opening in 2021, beginning with the candidate classes, but it was brought down by the rising curve of infections during the second wave of Covid-19.
Students had to take another run home.
During her address, Mrs Museveni did not shy away from mentioning the issues that students, parents and schools faced in the time of lockdown.
“The long closure of schools has adversely affected our young girls who have fallen victim to defilement, teenage pregnancies and child marriages.
Our schools, especially the private schools, may not be able to reopen due to financial stress,” Mrs Museveni said.
The government, however, emphasized that while the students were still at home, learning had to continue through television, radio, newspapers and online teaching spaces.
Universities were fast to adapt to the online teaching.
This made them not feel the impact of the school closure and lockdown as much.
In 2021, the government ranked International University of East Africa as the best online teaching university in Uganda.
Other sectors that are yet to reopen fully after nearly two years of closure are the entertainment industry, bars included.
According to President Kaguta Museveni, the economy will fully reopen before February 2022 whether citizens are vaccinated or not.
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