This energetic teacher in the Philippines welcomes his pupils to class with free food and amusing Zumba dance moves.

Jeric Maribao, 28, greets the children with wacky dance steps as they come to school in the town of Bonifacio in Misamis Occidental province on September 12.

To start off their day, he and his pupils shimmy to aerobics music typically used by middle-aged women for early morning exercises in public squares around the country.

The kids are then given vitamins, drinks, eggs, and bread from a food spread, which Jeric pays for out of his own pocket - despite the notoriously low salary for teachers in the Philippines.

The educator said: 'In order for my pupils to be active in the classroom, their stomachs should be filled with food.

'As a teacher I have to cook up different activities to capture their attention. I want to increase their motivation in studying. Every day, I give them vitamins before the first subject, and sometimes free snacks during recess.'

He added that part of the activity required the pupils to pick out their dream jobs as preparation for their future.

Jeric said: 'I wanted them to identify their preferred jobs because when I was young, I was never raised by my parents to properly think about my career. I don't want my pupils to experience that.'

After two years of holding online classes due to Covid-19, more than 24,000 schools across the Philippines have resumed in-person classes, with another 29,721 proceeding with a 'blended' learning setup that uses both remote and face-to-face instruction.