The schools were shut down in March of 2020, same as most of the world.
The government was supposed to distribute materials for distance learning opportunities, but they never did. In April of 2020, we actually created and implemented an an e-class distance learning program that allows hundreds of our students to stay connected with their teachers and classes through a smartphone. They are able to participate in class discussions, test takes/quizzes, and some of them are even getting science instruction through Zoom. While it's never as effective as in person instruction, it's been a good system to keep many of our students in "learning mode" and keep them focused on education.
They began to re-open in October, 2020 until May, 2021 when they were shut down again due to a new lockdown because of the spread of the Delta variant that hit the country. The schools remained closed until January, 2022 when they fully re-opened. As of Spring 2022 only approximately 70% of students have returned to school. Our hope is that over time more will return as we continue to make individual follow ups with students.
Unfortunately the lockdown has taken a huge toll on the children of Uganda, and as a result it is estimated approximately 1/3 of all children will never return to school.