Manila seeks WB’S apology over report on education
MANILA: Two senior cabinet officials have demanded that the World Bank (WB) “apologise” for the release of its recent controversial report over the poor state of the country’s educational system which “insulted and shamed” the Philippines.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones and Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez denounced the WB for its report that analysed the country’s education system and which showed the Philippines ranked second lowest out of 76 countries in literacy in both mathematics and science.
The report also cited results of the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, which found that Grade 4 Filipino pupils ranked last among 58 countries also in mathematics and science.
In a Malacanang Palace briefing, Briones protested against the WB report issued on its website without first informing the government.
She lamented it was a “grave error” that “insulted and shamed” the country.
“Since the country was insulted, shamed and so on, we expect and look forward to a public apology,” Briones said.
The official added that the World Bank had already sent her a “personal apology.”
Dominguez later joined Briones in seeking a public apology as he revealed he wrote an official leter to David Malpas, the WB president, pointing out the study “does not represent current realities.”
But more than that, the WB study “has the effect of misleading the public and causing undue reputational risk to the Philippine educational sector,” Dominguez said.
He also asked WB to “adhere to the highest ethical standards and observe responsible reporting.”
However, Congresswoman France Castro of the ACT Teachers blamed the government for “abandoning” the education sector, saying the WB assessments proved that the country’s Kindergarten to Grade 12 (K-12) programme did not enhance the quality of education.
Castro noted that the government did not give priority to resolve perennial problems of education particularly adequate funds for classrooms, learning materials, substantial salary increases for teachers and beter learning environment for the youth.