BIG PICTURE Not even a flooded classroom could keep these children out of school.
In the Philippines, millions of pupils across the country have restarted schooling, which was paused at the start of the pandemic outbreak over two years ago. The closures, among the longest in the world, were due to slow vaccine rollouts, a change in government (which saw Ferdinand Marcos Jr take power) and fears of fresh waves of infections. That meant 28 million students had their education put on hold, with remote learning difficult in a country where less than 20 per cent of households have internet access.
These eager learners in Macabebe, Pampanga province fought flood waters caused by tropical storm Ma-on.
Their teacher, Mylene Ambrocio, said: “For two years, we longed for face-to-face classes, so…