Philippine students back to school after more than two years

A teacher sprays alcohol on the hands of students for protection against COVID-19, on the first day of in-person classes at a public school in San Juan City, Philippines, August 22, 2022. (Photo: Reuters)

Hanoi (VNA) - Millions of Philippine students returned to classrooms for the first time in more than two years, after the country lifted the most remaining COVID-19 restrictions.

The Philippines, among the worst hit by the pandemic in Southeast Asia, is one of the last countries in the world to resume full-time, in-person lessons – sparking warnings that the prolonged closure of classrooms had worsened an education crisis in the country.

The prolonged school closures sparked fears that literacy rates among Philippine children – which were already at alarming levels before the pandemic – could worsen.

A World Bank study last year showed that about nine of 10 children in this nation were suffering from “learning poverty”, the inability of children by age 10 to read and understand a simple story./.

VNA