Uganda today announced the reopening of schools, ending one of the world's longest school closures caused by the covid-19 pandemic, with students going almost two years without classes.

About 15 million primary and secondary school students have been out of school since March 2020, when every school in the country was closed to contain the spread of the pandemic.

"More than 73% of teachers have already been vaccinated," against covid-19, with a first dose, Education Ministry spokesman Denis Mugimba said at a press conference in Kampala quoted by Lusa on Friday.

However, the authorities had already allowed universities and other higher education institutions to reopen last September.

"There will be coordination with the Ministry of Health to ensure that all students 18 and older are vaccinated," Mugimba added.

However, authorities have warned that any public school that demands tuition fees above the pre-pandemic rates will be punished with a penalty.

The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) today welcomed the resumption of classes in that African country.

"The Government of Uganda, with the support of partners like Unicef, will ensure that as schools reopen, everyone in the schools is safe," the UN agency's Uganda office assured on its Twitter social media account, reports Spanish news agency EFE.

Ugandan MP Michael Kakembo also welcomed the return of the children to the classrooms.

"Today our children are back in school after the longest school closure in the world. Despite the challenges, we must have confidence in the systems in place to ensure their education," Kakembo said on Twitter.

To date, Uganda, which has one of the youngest populations in the world, has recorded about 154,000 cases of covid-19, of which more than 3,330 have resulted in deaths.