The Department of Education (DepEd) has finally broken its silence on the report released by the World Bank saying that more than 80 percent of Filipino learners “do not know what they should know.”

In a statement issued Monday, July 5, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said that the World Bank report on education inadvertently inflicted harm not only on DepEd but also on the overall image of the Philippine government.

Briones explained that as a matter of public knowledge, the governments of member nations “own and direct” the World Bank.

“The function of the World Bank is to serve the development interests of its members, not to inflict harm,” Briones said. “If DepEd is to continue to regard the World Bank as a true development partner in education, I believe DepEd deserves a public apology. No less,” she added.

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https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/05/after-ph-was-insulted-and-shamed-deped-demands-public-apology-from-the-world-bank/

Outdated data used

Briones also clarified that World Bank used “old data” in report on education in the Philippines. She added that the “new initiatives and up-to-date data not included” in the said report.

The use of 2019 old PISA data, Briones said, was admitted by the Senior Economist of the World Bank.

In a note to an Education Undersecretary, it was mentioned that: “Please know that the full report contents are derived from published PISA scores and I hope this can be useful in your response to those asking questions, these are not new findings but data that have been previously published when PISA was published.”

However, Briones noted that the World Bank admitted to one error - which is the release of old data based on 2019 PISA scores to the public without informing DepEd.

“Thus, DepEd and the Philippine government were subjected to public censure and criticism,” Briones said. “Even if done inadvertently, the World Bank has inflicted harm on DepEd and the government,” she added.

Other concerns

Briones noted that the second and more important error - which the World Bank inflicted on DepEd - was its “omission” of the initiatives which were being undertaken even before the PISA results came out.

These, she added, are being refined further based on analysis of the results of PISA and the other international assessments.

“These initiatives involve not only the government but concerned members of the national and international community as well, including the World Bank,” Briones said.

Briones noted that aside from the involvement of national government agencies other than DepEd - such as the Department of Finance, local, national and bilateral partners - are also pitching in.

The said report, Briones said, also “lacked historical context.” Briones explained that the quality of “education, at all levels, is a product of a long historical process” and that World Bank, itself, is a “party to this historical evolution” since it is a lender for major reform programs.

“Giving a snapshot of the current situation without its historical context can easily give the impression that it is the present administration that is to blame, and not mentioning current initiatives can further give the impression that we are not doing anything about it,” Briones added.