SAVE the Children Philippines supported the reopening of schools for School Year 2022-2023 and called on government agencies to protect learners and teachers.

“Every Filipino child, regardless of who, what, and where they are, or whatever their circumstances may be, deserves the right to learn at all times,” it said.

“We can give them the future they deserve if we work hand-in-hand to get our children safely back to school,” the group added.

The Philippines was among the last countries to reopen schools since the start of the pandemic.

The Asian Development Bank reported that students in Developing Asia, including the Philippines, lost over half a year of effective learning on average.

Meanwhile, a recent World Bank report revealed that more than 90 percent of Filipino children struggle with reading and understanding simple texts at age 10. This problem was co ko mpounded by the significant number of out-of-school children which is now close to half a million.