Scaling roofs and mountains, Philippine students battle to take online classes


  • World
  • Thursday, 07 Jan 2021

Jhay Ar Calma, 10, a grade 5 student, sits on the roof of his home as he takes part in an online class using a tablet, due to weak internet connection in his area, as schools remain closed during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Sta. Mesa, Manila, Philippines, October 30, 2020. "Sometimes we change the SIM card to a different provider so he doesn't have to study on the roof, but there's rarely enough money to spare for that," said Jhay's mother Jonalyn Parulan. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

MANILA (Reuters) - Since the pandemic forced him into remote learning, 10-year-old Jhay Ar Calma has often had to climb on to the corrugated iron roof of his home in a poor neighbourhood of Manila to get an internet signal.

Up on the roof, he sits on a broken plastic basin and hopes there'll be a signal strong enough for his government-issued device.

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