Fails to cover scripture lessons for primates (7)
I believe the answer is:
lorises
'for primates' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'fails to cover scripture' is the wordplay.
'fails' becomes 'loses' (I've seen this before).
'to cover' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'scripture' becomes 'ri' (I've seen this in other clues).
'loses' placed around 'ri' is 'LORISES'.
'lessons' is the link.
This may not be right. It may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for lorises that I've seen before include "Primates" , "Mammals" .)