Millions of children in the Philippines returned to school this morning as the academic year started, with many taking their seats in classrooms for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
The Philippines 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.
Children in masks and uniforms lined up for a temperature check and squirt of hand sanitiser at Pedro Guevara Elementary School in Manila, which had shut classrooms since March 2020.
The school has adopted a hybrid system of in-person and remote learning as it transitions its nearly 6,000 students back to face-to-face classes by November -- a deadline set by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr soon after he took office two months ago.