The Solomon Islands government has approved the repatriation of students in the Philippines.
There are around 340 Solomon Islands students in the Philippines on government and private sponsorship.
The Solomon Islands flag Photo: RNZI
The Philippines has over 130-thousand confirmed cases of covid-19 and has recorded more than 2,200 deaths so far. Solomon Islands has no cases.
The Island Sun newspaper reports the deputy secretary of Solomon Islands education ministry, James Bosamata, saying they are working with authorities in the Philippines to compile a detailed list of all Solomon Islands' students in the country.
This will then be submitted to the office of the prime minister ahead of talks with the national airline on making sure the repatriation is done properly.
"We will do our best to organize the repatriation in way to protect our country," Bosamata said.
"This is important because we don't want to bring our students and suddenly take a case here."
Bosamata said that all Solomon Islands students, not just those who have graduated, will be repatriated.
Meanwhile, he said that for continuing students they would have to defer their study for next year.