Philippines Government Orders Schools Reopening after 2 Years

After more than two years of lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic, the government forced the mandatory restart of in-person lessons on Wednesday, and millions of students flocked back to public schools all throughout the Philippines.

The considerable damage and flooding generated by Tropical Storm Nalgae, which blew out of the archipelago on Sunday, plagued the resuming of classes in grade and high schools in various cities and provinces. More than 130 people perished in the storm, and it also left a path of devastation that included destroyed school facilities.

Another persistent issue has been a lack of classrooms and teachers.

As a result of his predecessor's decision to implement one of the longest lockdowns in history, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has taken steps to fully reopen the economy, which in 2020 experienced its worst recession since World War II. This was due to the closure of schools, workplaces, and public transportation.

The rule that people wear face masks indoors and in public places has been repealed by Marcos Jr.

There are nearly 29 million students enrolled for the upcoming school year, including in privately owned institutions. These institutions can choose to resume in-person instruction or to continue offering a mix of in-person and online courses on a weekly basis.

At the beginning of a transitional period to regular sessions, many schools started holding in-person classes again in August. Long-term school closures had raised concerns that the already concerning reading rates among Filipino youngsters prior to the pandemic would get worse.

According to a World Bank report from the previous year, around nine out of ten Filipino children were experiencing "learning poverty," or the inability to read and comprehend a straightforward story by the time they turned ten.