Youth Return to the Classroom After 83-Week School Closure in Uganda

Distance learning model participants talking through a lesson

Schools in Uganda opened their doors in January to welcome back students after a staggering 83-week closure — the longest closure of schools anywhere in the world — caused by the spread of COVID-19 in March 2020. But while many young people will eagerly pack their book bags and return to the classroom, officials in Uganda estimate that up to a third of students may never return. This is a disheartening projection for the large number of young people who are already struggling to secure quality employment and build their livelihoods. 

While we are thrilled youth are headed back to the classroom, young people face a challenging number of learning objectives this year. Many will be automatically advancing to the next grade level and participating in remedial classes to catch up on lost learning. Youth who were in lower secondary school when the pandemic started will have missed nearly half of what’s typically a 4-year lower secondary education. At the same time, the government aims to implement an abridged curriculum to compress two years of learning losses into the upcoming school year.

Rethinking Education to Prepare All Youth for Success

As we transition to the third year of the pandemic, no effort should be spared in ensuring that youth are equipped with the 21st century tools and competencies they need to be resilient in the face of this continued crisis and drive towards their long-term goals, including the estimated 4.5 million learners that will not be returning to traditional education. 

Even before COVID-19, over 50% of youth in East Africa did not attend secondary school due to economic constraints and challenging barriers to access. In Kenya and Uganda, girls make up 50-70% of this population due to additional barriers such as gender inequity and discrimination, early marriage, and more. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated these barriers and inequalities, and we need to invest in and drive forward solutions that can equip every young person, especially every girl, with the skills they need to navigate an ever-changing and complex economy. 

Out-of-School Youth Bootcamp participant Grace outside of the salon where she works part-time to supplement her yogurt business’ profits

At Educate!, we are continuing to support youth through our distance learning model in Uganda, where we are leveraging conference calls on low-tech mobile phones to facilitate interactive, skills-based learning experiences. At the same time, we’ve set out to build Educate!’s newest solution: intensive skill-building bootcamps for youth unable to access secondary school. Recognizing the significant and growing need for new educational opportunities, this solution is built upon a strong foundation of evidence and aims to provide alternative education-to-employment pathways for out-of-school youth, especially girls.

We believe that every young person should receive a quality education after primary school—despite their socio-economic status or other barriers to access—and now more than ever we are committed to fighting the harm threatened by COVID-19 to young peoples’ education and livelihoods.