When Education Secretary Leonor Briones said that the World Bank owed the Philippines a public apology over an outdated report which “insulted and shamed” the country, all eyes were on the former - wondering what made her ask for such.
On July 5, Briones made the demand in a televised briefing and in an official statement released by the Department of Education (DepEd). Soon after, “World Bank” and “DepEd” trended on social media.
In numerous tweets and comments on Twitter and Facebook, mixed reactions were directed at the 80-year-old DepEd Chief - with some questioning her audacity to ask for an apology given the “current state” of Philippine education.
Many took a swipe at Briones and said that instead of being “offended” she and the DepEd should just address the concerns raised in the World Bank report.
There were also netizens who lambasted Briones for not being able to “accept criticisms” while others simply poked fun at her age, noting that she should just step down and leave the DepEd leadership to a young blood.
Three days later, on July 8, the World Bank Philippines issued a statement and said that it “deeply” regretted that the report on education was “inadvertently published earlier than scheduled” and before the DepEd had “enough chance to provide inputs.”
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/08/world-bank-philippines-issues-an-apology-for-inadvertent-release-of-education-report/
Why was there a need for a public apology?
In a phone interview with the Manila Bulletin early this week, Briones pointed out that the said World Bank report was “unfair” to start with.
“It did not include the latest developments, there was no historical context,” Briones said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Briones said that the release of the report came as a surprise to DepEd because the concerned agency was not informed prior to its public release. “World Bank has been our partner as far back as the 1970s, they have been involved in education,” she explained.
Since 1981, Briones - whose academic and professional competencies range from business administration, accounting, public finance, public policy and administration - said that the country has at least USD 700 million in loans from the World Bank.
“Right now, the Philippine government is negotiating for a loan that is very near conclusion so we couldn’t see the context ,” Briones said, noting that “if you don’t contextualize it, it seems very unflattering for the Philippines.”
Briones said that as soon as DepEd learned of the study, it sought explanation from the World Bank. The agency was told that there was an “error” in the releasing of the report - an “oversight” which was confirmed by the World Bank in a statement it released.
As a matter of protocol, Briones explained that “they let us know about such reports.” But in this instance, the study was posted for public consumption without DepEd’s knowledge.
The World Bank study entitled “Improving student learning outcomes and well-being in the Philippines: What are international assessments telling us?” reported that “more than 80 percent of children do not know what they should know.”
Other key findings of the study cited that “poor performance is deeply rooted in students’ limited proficiency in the languages in which schooling takes place” and an “unacceptably poor school climate, with high levels of bullying.”
The synthesis report included data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) - both in 2019.
“They admitted that they should have not done it but for me, this is not the bigger error,” Briones said. “For me, the bigger unfairness is not including what has happened after PISA 2019 and these two other assessments,” she added.
Briones said that as soon as DepEd found out the results of these reports, the agency acknowledged them. “We never denied those results,” she said. “In the first place, we did not do that,” she added.
For Briones, another bigger error on the part of the World Bank in its report was that “there was no historical context” - which was also recognized by the international financial institution soon after.
“We agree with the Department that the issue of quality has a long historical context, and support its demonstrated commitment to resolve it decisively,” the World Bank said.
Briones, who was also Secretary to the Commission on Audit and former Treasurer of the Philippines, also pointed out that the impact of the report “was not so much on the negotiations” between the country and the World Bank on loan packages.
“But as the beneficiary, you would expect us to raise detailed matters,” Briones said. “It’s really the image of the Philippines and it is the image of this administration which was harmed,” she added.
Briones said that a personal apology - through a letter - was sent to her early on. “But I am not happy with a personal apology because the political fallout is not only personal - the fallouts of legislature and so on,” she said.
“It’s not only personal to me, it’s on this administration and on the country, itself of which whose hands we’ve been holding and to who we have been borrowing since the 1970s,” Briones, the former president of Freedom from Debt Coalition and Lead Convenor of Social Watch Philippines, said.
Briones, on the other hand, clarified that DepEd considers the World Bank as a very important partner.
“World Bank has been with us forever and ever and we are not putting the blame on anybody, there is no room for finger-pointing because we are partners, our criticism is that there is no historical context,” she said.
The professor emeritus of the University of the Philippines-National College of Public Administration and Governance (UP-NCPAG), Briones explained that the structure of the World Bank is that it is owned by all countries - including the Philippines.
“We’re not in the position of leadership because our contribution is not very high unlike big-time countries...but we are a member,” Briones said. “Its operations expenses are funded by their earnings from loans and since we are supposed to be co-owners or stockholders of the World Bank, they are not supposed to harm us,” she added.
RELATED STORY:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/16/who-is-leonor-briones-and-why-is-she-an-easy-target-in-social-media/