Calendar for the reopening of schools in Uganda released

In accordance with this new calendar, schools resume on January 10, 2022 and will run a full academic year to December 9, when third term ends. 

The general expectation amongst the public had been that the academic year 2020 would be completed first in view of the fact that many children remained studying online this year. 

This expectation was in tandem with the anticipation of the progression of learners to the next level, with an accelerated core curriculum coverage. 

Again, the annual Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) exams were also expected to be mid-year, as it was this year.

However, it seems that the “new normal” is still underlining the reality that COVID-19 has altered lives and livelihoods for the long haul. 

The academic year 2020 was cut short when President Yoweri Museveni announced a total lockdown in March 2020, after the first cases of COVID-19 threatened to snowball into an avalanche of health issues. 

As a consequence, schools remained closed until October when the government allowed finalists at institutions of higher learning and learners in candidate classes to resume learning. 

To accommodate the holistic academic context, a new calendar was issued and schedules for other classes to return to school in a measured manner were made. 

However, before this return could pan out, in April this year the country was struck by a second wave of covid-19 infections which were more severe than the first wave that foreshadowed the first lockdown. And so, there was a second closure of schools. 

To the consternation of many, this led to Uganda being the only country in Africa where schools remained fully closed for close to two years.

Additionally, it was later revealed by data collected from UNICEF that Ugandan schools were closed for the longest time in the world followed by Nepal, and Bolivia.