Solon: DepEd should be ‘ashamed,’ not demand apology, over World Bank report

ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) should be “ashamed,” and not demand for an apology, over the World Bank report which states that Filipino students “do not know what they should know in school,” a party-list lawmaker said Tuesday.

ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro said DepEd, as well as President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, “should be ashamed for its abandonment and negligence in the worsening education crisis in the country.”

Castro made the remark after DepEd demanded an apology from the World Bank for not following the proper protocol in releasing its Philippine education study and for supposedly releasing “old data.”

“What will an apology from the World Bank do to benefit the quality of education in the country? What will the DepEd do with the report if the World Bank informs them of the report before publishing?” Castro said in a statement.

“The Department of Education and the Duterte administration should provide concrete plans to address the perennial problems that were also reflected in the World Bank report instead of being onion-skinned and demanding an apology,” she added.

Castro also said that Filipino students would not rank low in international assessments if only DepEd was able to address the demands of the education sector.

“With the publication of the World Bank report and the poor ranking in international assessments, we challenge the Department of Education to heed the demands of our teachers and students for better access to quality education, address the perennial problems to solve the worsening crisis in education,” Castro said.

“Stop being onion-skinned with the publication of a report that simply reflected the realities of the education situation in the country and do its job,” she added.

The World Bank released last week a report on Philippine education that analyzed the results of international student assessments, including the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa), which showed that the Philippines ranked second lowest out of 79 countries in both mathematical and scientific literacy.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones said that the report “insulted” and “shamed” the Philippines.

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80% of PH kids don’t know what they should know – World Bank

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