Ugandan Government has said it has shorten the school term by two weeks to reduce daily contact amongst students and help curb the spread of Ebola.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Minister of Education, Janet Kataha Museveni, on Tuesday.
The authorities have been struggling to contain the highly infectious and deadly haemorrhagic fever since the spread into Kampala, the nation’s capital.
According to the Health Ministry, the Country had recorded a total of 135 confirmed cases and 53 deaths, as of Monday.
Museveni said the cabinet had taken a decision to close pre-schools, primary schools, and secondary schools on November 25, because densely packed classrooms make students highly vulnerable to infection.
She said; “Closing schools earlier will reduce areas of concentration where children are in daily close contact with fellow children, teachers, and other staff who could potentially spread the virus.”
Students in Uganda are currently in their third and final term for the calendar year, at the end of which they sit promotional exams.
According to Museveni, 23 cases have been confirmed among children of which eight have died.
The virus circulating in Uganda is the Sudan strain of Ebola and there is no proven vaccine, unlike the more common Zaire strain that spread during recent outbreaks in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).