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View all search resultsPhilippines to reopen 120 schools
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T
he Philippines will reopen up to 120 schools for limited in-person classes for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in a pilot approved by President Rodrigo Duterte, officials said Monday.
Meanwhile, Laos has locked down its capital Vientiane and barred travel between COVID-hit provinces, as cases soared to a record high.
While nearly every country in the world has already partially or fully reopened schools for face-to-face lessons, the Philippines has kept them closed since March 2020.
"We have to pilot face-to-face [classes] because this is not just an issue for education, it's an issue for the children's mental health," presidential spokesman Harry Roque told reporters.
"It's also an issue for the economy because we might lose a generation if we don't have face-to-face [classes]."
Under guidelines approved by Duterte Monday, up to a hundred public schools in areas considered "minimal risk" for virus transmission will be allowed to take part in the two-month trial. Twenty private schools can also participate.
Classrooms will be open to children in kindergarten to grade three, and senior high school, but the number of students and hours spent in face-to-face lessons limited.
