Group: 2.7M children affected by aftershocks
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People gather at a temporary shelter outside their homes inside a housing project for survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan in Bogo City, Cebu province on October 2, 2025, in the aftermath of a 6.9-magnitude quake that struck off the coast of the central Philippines late September 30. The death toll from a powerful earthquake in the central Philippines rose to 72 on October 2, rescuers said, as officials turned their efforts to the hundreds injured and thousands left homeless.
TED ALJIBE / AFP
More than a week after the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that jolted Northern Cebu, about 2.7 million children, or 10 percent of the country's students, remain out of school or affected as thousands of aftershocks continue to shake the region.
Citing the Department of Education (DepEd)'s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service, Save the Children Philippines (SCP) noted that over 2,200 schools were affected in the deadly temblor, with debris strewn across playgrounds, roads, and outbuildings, and more than 1,800 classrooms now totally unusable.
Meanwhile, toilets and washing facilities at more than 200 schools have also been significantly damaged.
As of writing, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) plotted over 1,800 aftershocks. Of the figure, 44 were felt.
The quake was also the deadliest the country has experienced in at least a decade, killing some 72 people and injuring further 294.
The Philippines sits on the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire and is no stranger to earthquakes and aftershocks, but this earthquake was the deadliest the country has experienced in at least a decade, killing some 72 people and injuring a further 294 people.
For the 2025–2026 School Year, the DepEd initially projected 27.6 million students for basic education. Approximately 2.7 million school-aged children have had their education disrupted by the earthquake.
Faisah Ali, humanitarian manager of the SCP, stressed that even following the chaos of an earthquake, children's learning should not stop.
“We’re with them, helping children to cope, offering psychosocial support, and protecting their well-being. We're also working to give them safe spaces where they can study, play, and feel like children again," Ali added.
Ali emphasized that children in Cebu are still in urgent need of water, shelter, and psychosocial support to help them process what they experienced and to prevent long-term setbacks in education.
They also need learning materials and access to safe learning spaces while the province rebuilds schools and other infrastructure, she added.
"We welcome everyone’s support to make this possible."
