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The Ugandan government has ended the world’s longest school shutdown.
Some 15 million young Ugandans returned to school on Monday. Schools had been closed for almost two years due to the pandemic. Ugandan Education Minister John Muyingo said all students will resume classes one class above the level they left off in March 2020.
“Very strict protocols have been put in place in all schools across the country to ensure children return to class safely,” said the minister. Particular attention will be paid to private schools to ensure that they do not claim higher tuition fees than those charged before the closure, he added.
“This must never happen once more”
Many children’s rights organizations have denounced this 83-week closure of schools, the longest on record in the world. “This must never happen once more. We must keep schools open for all children, everywhere, ”Unicef, the United Nations children’s agency, said on Twitter.
The NGO Save the Children deplored the delay in the school curriculum by the children and warned that there might be many children who would not return to school without an intervention from the authorities in support of teachers. Uganda has recorded a total of 153,762 Covid-19 cases for 3,339 deaths, according to official figures as of January 7.
(AFP)