CNN : [2] This week 18-year-old Fridah Namuganza is taking orders and wiping down tables in the Ugandan restaurant where she works but she wishes she was putting on a new school uniform and returning to classes like her friend Rachael Nalwanga.
[3] The tale of the two friends one a dropout, one joyfully resuming her education is also the tale of millions of Uganda’s children as many went back to classes on Monday after a nearly two-year shutdown of schools induced by Covid-19.
[4] The shutdown in the east African country was the longest disruption of educational institutions globally due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the United Nations. When the closure went into effect, 15.5 million students had their education disrupted, according to Dennis Mugimba, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Education.
[5] Universities and higher education students had returned to school in a phased manner, but kindergarten and lower primary students, approximately six million students, hadn’t stepped in a classroom until yesterday, said Mugimba.
“I am excited that I am going back to school. It has not been easy for me to keep safe at home for this long but I thank God, who has kept me safe,” 16-year-old Rachael told Reuters.
“I have all along longed to go back to school so that I can achieve my dream career of becoming an accountant.”