Unusual ways children get to school around the world - in pictures

At the end of a week when pupils returned to class, we look at alternative ways of doing the school run

Students ride a boat on their way to school during the first day of in-person classes, in Macabebe, Pampanga province, Philippines, August 22, 2022. REUTERS / Lisa Marie David

High achievers ... children in Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture in Sichuan, China use a steel ladder on their way home from school. The ladder in November replaced the old vines the children previously scaled to reach Atuler village on the clifftop. More than 20 pupils from the school use the ladder as a safer and shorter way home up the 800m cliff at Meigu River Canyon. Getty Images

Filipino grade school pupils on an inflated tube cross a swollen river on their way to school in a remote village of Rizal province, east of Manila. Locals brave the raging currents of the river and walk two kilometres to reach their community's school and hospital. They have asked for a suspension bridge from the local government to make the crossing easier, faster and safer. In the Philippines, poor access to education, especially in rural areas, is a problem, but enrolment rates remain relatively high. According to Unicef, grade school enrolment is at 85 per cent, though only 62 per cent finish high school. Data from the Commission on Higher Education, meanwhile, shows that fewer than three million students take up tertiary education and fewer than 500,000 graduate. EPA

Pupils use a bamboo raft to cross the Ciherang river on their way home from school in Cilangkap village, Indonesia. The raft has been used since January 2013 when flooding broke the bridge, local media reported. Reuters

Palestinian pupils in the village of Al Aqaba in the Jordan Valley head to school about five kilometres from their homes. AFP

Indian children on the way home from school in the outskirts of New Delhi. Reuters

Pupils on their way to school outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia. AP Photo

Millions of children around the world returned to school this week — some for the first time in two years owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

While here in the UAE, the biggest hardship for pupils and parents was heavy congestion on the roads, some children living in remote areas around the world embark on intrepid journeys.

From donkey rides in the Jordan Valley to crossing great rivers on rafts, check out our gallery above.

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