The World Bank Philippines on Thursday, July 8, issued an apology to the Philippine government and the Department of Education (DepEd) for “inadvertently” releasing an education report on the poor learning outcomes of Filipino students.
“We deeply regret that the report on education was inadvertently published earlier than scheduled and before the Department of Education had enough chance to provide inputs,” the World Bank Philippines said in a statement posted on its website.
The World Bank Philippines said that such move was an “oversight on our part” and that it already has “conveyed our personal apologies in our communication with the government.”
Recognizing the “inadvertent release” of the report, the World Bank said that it has taken steps to “temporarily remove it from the website.”
Aside from issuing an apology, the World Bank also recognized the reform initiatives of the DepEd related to education quality. "We are aware of the Department’s various efforts and programs to address the challenge of education quality,” it added.
The World Bank also agreed with the DepEd that the “issue of quality has a long historical context, and support its demonstrated commitment to resolve it decisively.”
In a televised public briefing on July 5, Education Secretary Leonor said that the World Bank should issue a “public apology” after the country was “insulted and shamed” after an outdated report was released.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/05/after-ph-was-insulted-and-shamed-deped-demands-public-apology-from-the-world-bank/
Briones, in a statement issued also on July 5, said that it is 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.”
The World Bank said that it has already reached out to Briones on this matter and it looks “forward to continuing our dialogue with the Department of Education on the opportunities and challenges in the education sector.”
Among the findings in the said World Bank report is that “more than 80 percent of children do not know what they should know.” The said report was based on three different international large scale assessments participated by DepEd since 2016 including the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2018 and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) – both in 2019.
The said report also pointed out that the” “poor performance is deeply rooted in students’ limited proficiency in the languages in which schooling takes place” and that “there is an unacceptably poor school climate, with high levels of bullying.”
DepEd has yet to issue an official statement on the matter as of this writing.
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