Coronavirus: Philippine students won’t be allowed back to school until vaccine is available

Tens of millions of students could be affected, and education officials have suggested lessons may need to be broadcast on television

There has been little public opposition to the postponement of face-to-face classes, as hundreds of new infections are being detected daily

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A Philippine student grimaces as a nurse administers an anti-dengue vaccine. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:30pm, 8 Jun 2020Updated: 8:30pm, 8 Jun 2020

Tens of millions of children in the Philippines will not be allowed back to school until a coronavirus vaccine is available, officials announced on Monday, saying they may have to broadcast lessons on TV.

Nations like France and South Korea began resuming face-to-face classes as they got their outbreaks under control, but Philippine authorities see the risk as too great.

President Rodrigo Duterte said last month that even if students could not graduate, they needed to stay out of school to fight the spread of the disease.

“We will comply with the president’s directive to postpone face-to-face classes until a vaccine is available,” education secretary Leonor Briones said in a statement on Monday.

Classes are to resume at the end of August and teachers will use distance learning methods via the internet or TV broadcasts where needed, Briones added.

Millions live in deep poverty in the Philippines and do not have access to computers at home, which is key to the viability of online classes.

“The teacher and the school will have to adjust … depending on the availability of communication,” Briones said in a press briefing.