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Children in Uganda are returning to school after a closure of almost two years because of Covid. After one of the world's longest school closures, authorities there say about 15 million students have been affected. For those students who didn't or couldn't study during the closures, the curriculum will be abridged to focus on core areas and give them a chance to catch up.

Elizabeth Kemigisha, an advocacy manager at FIDA Uganda (a leading women's rights organisation) says that at least 30 percent of students may never return. Some have become pregnant or married early, and children from rural or marginalised communities have started work in the leather industry. She also believes "exorbitant" fees will put many off returning with absences widening the country's inequality gap - something she says the Ugandan government needs to tackle.

Photo: Students of Kakungulu Memorial Secondary school in Kampala attend a class after schools reopened Credit: Reuters