West Asia war LIVE: Iran's Foreign Ministry says talks with Oman continue

Sou Sreynich dreams of becoming a teacher. But she knows she’s far behind.

The 13-year-old first entered a classroom at 10, an age when most Cambodian children already have been in school for years. Her mother waited until she was old enough to swim, fearing the boat to school could capsize — a decision familiar to many parents on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia.

Now, the rate of gasoline has spiked because of the Iran war, an further burden. Unlike outright school closures during COVID-19, the Iran war’s impact on education is less visible. But it is falling first and hardest on the poorest families. Soaring fuel prices are making it more expensive for children and teachers to secure to school, and for governments to fund education as national budgets come under strain.

If the war continues, it could push up to 23.4 million more children like Soy Sreynich into poverty by the end of the year, according to a recent United Nations Children’s Fund report. About 80 per cent of those children would be in Africa and Asia.

Most mornings, a gas-powered boat chugs through Kampong Prahok, steered by students often no older than those climbing aboard. As peers in crisp uniforms clamber aboard, careful to keep their backpacks dry.

-AP

, they pull up alongside floating homes.