Flooding in Philippines dampens school return

This mother in Macabebe, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) northeast of Manila, is bringing her daughter to school — for the first time in over two years. Since March 2020, many schools in the Philippines have been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They only reopened nationwide earlier this week. But the return to lessons was soon interrupted.

Standing in water up to her ankles, this teacher sings the national anthem with her students. After an enforced break of more than two years, everyone is happy that school is finally back in session. The Philippines enforced one of the world's longest lockdowns due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Schoolchildren in the Southeast Asian country have a lot of catching up to do. Even before the pandemic, nine out of 10 children could not read or understand a simple text at the age of 10, according to a World Bank report. Only a few other countries are worse, including Afghanistan, Laos, Chad and Yemen.

Despite their wet feet, these children were just happy to be able to go back to school at all. Because of the pandemic, many poor parents have been unable to pay for the school fees and supplies. The government has announced financial aid of up to 4,000 pesos (just under €71/$71), but it's uncertain whether this will be enough.

After a tropical storm triggered massive landslides and claimed 144 lives in April, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. decided this week to close schools and government buildings in the north of the country for several days. There, the latest storm, Ma-on, hit land with wind speeds of 110 kilometers per hour (about 70 miles per hour) and heavy rainfall, causing major flooding.

A farmer in Tumauini, 450 kilometers (280 miles) north of Manila, surveys the damage to his cornfield. The harvests of many small farmers in the northern Philippines have also been severely affected by the tropical storm. The national disaster management agency has reported only three fatalities so far — but the numbers could still rise.