Millions of students throughout the Philippines headed to school Monday as in-person classes began to fully restart for the first time in more than two years, ending one of the world’s longest pandemic-related shutdowns in a school system already plagued by severe underinvestment.
"We could no longer afford to delay the education of young Filipinos,” said Vice President Sara Duterte, who is also the education secretary, as she toured schools in the town of Dinalupihan, about 40 miles northwest of Manila.
Even before the pandemic, the Philippines had among the world’s largest education gaps, with more than 90% of students unable to read and comprehend simple texts by age 10, according to the World Bank.