A teacher checks a child’s health code at a kindergarten in Shanghai on Thursday. On Aug. 26, China’s Ministry of Education required all students to monitor their health for seven consecutive days and report their travel before the start of school to prevent flare-ups. Photo: YIN VCG

Students return to primary school in Hong Kong on Thursday. Primary, secondary and pre-school classes officially begin in Hong Kong on the same day. Photo: Li Zhihua/China News Service, VCG

A girl waits with her mom at the start of the first day of school at Sunkist Elementary School in Anaheim, California, on Aug. 11. Photo: VCG

A girl cries as class begins at San Juan Elementary School in Pasig, the Philippines, on Aug. 22. Photo: VCG

Afghan girls read the Quran at Noor Mosque outside Kabul on Aug. 9. For most teenage girls in Afghanistan, it’s been a year since they set foot in a classroom. Photo: VCG

Palestinian students prepare to go to school as the new semester begins in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip on Monday. More than 1.3 million students began their new school year across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on Monday. Photo: VCG

Pre-primary students leave campus after attending the first day of school at Sane Guruji English Medium school, Dadar, in Mumbai, India, on Jan. 24. Photo: VCG

Toys and books are displayed inside a bomb shelter in Kyiv on Tuesday, ready in case they are needed by school children. More than 130,000 students prepare to return to school on Thursday in Ukraine’s capital, according to this city’s mayor Vitali Klitschko. Photo: VCG