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Philippines to reopen 120 schools
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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.
Schools wanting to take part will be assessed for their preparedness and need approval from local governments to reopen. Written consent from parents will be required.
"If the pilot class is safe, if it is effective, then we will gradually increase it," said Education Secretary Leonor Briones.
Duterte rejected previous proposals for a pilot reopening of schools for fear children could catch COVID-19 and infect elderly relatives.
But there have been growing calls from the United Nations' children fund and many teachers for a return to in-person learning amid concerns the prolonged closure was exacerbating an education crisis in the country.
It is not clear when the pilot will begin or which schools will be included.
A "blended learning" program, which involves online classes, printed materials and lessons broadcast on television and social media, will continue.
France Castro of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers told AFP the decision was "long overdue".
Fifteen-year-olds in the Philippines were at or near the bottom in reading, mathematics and science, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Most students attend public schools where large class sizes, outdated teaching methods, lack of investment in basic infrastructure such as toilets, and poverty have been blamed for youngsters lagging behind.
Surging cases
Laos appeared to have escaped the brunt of the pandemic in 2020, and by March this year had reported fewer than 60 cases — though the low number was due in part to limited testing.
But a surge since mid-April has seen its caseload steadily increase, and on Saturday the country reported 467 new cases of community infection, its highest ever single-day tally.
The mayor of Vientiane, where the bulk of the cases were detected, declared a strict lockdown on Sunday for two weeks, ordering residents to stay in their homes unless obtaining food, medicine or making their way to a hospital.
Travel between seven other hard-hit provinces is banned, while entry into Vientiane requires a quarantine of 14 days.
All public gatherings — even religious ceremonies — are also banned, as are activities including outdoor exercise and selling street food, according to state-run media KPL.
The surge in cases over the weekend was linked to fresh clusters found in the country's garment factories, with the bulk of workers infected with the highly contagious Delta strain.
Laos has so far recorded a total of 19,399 cases and 16 deaths. According to the country's Health Ministry, it has administered more than 4.5 million vaccine doses — mostly Sinopharm donated from neighboring China and the Pfizer-BioNTech jab obtained via the COVAX program for low-income countries.
State-run media reported that any violation of Vientiane's lockdown would result in a fine of 3 million kip (US$310) — a punishing fee in a country where the annual income per capita is about $2,600.
