PCOO Global Media and Public Affairs

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has accepted the apology of the World Bank (WB) on Monday after the financial institution prematurely published an assessment of Filipino students' academic ability, noting, however, that he wanted to know the true assessment of the students' performance.

The World Bank has apologized for issuing a report revealing 80 percent of Filipino children do not have the essential math and reading skills they should have depending on their academic level.

In his public address, President Duterte said the Department of Education (DepEd) is focusing on a new set of data that will be soon presented to the financial institution so that they can amend their statistics and data inputs.

In welcoming the World Bank's apology for its report, the President said he hoped the organization would be more cautious in the future.

"I would not want to begrudge World Bank. But itong mga international whatever bodies working on the problems of the world should be very careful in their statistics," President Duterte said.

"It is not good to, you know, commit a wrong internationally."

The World Bank has published a study reflecting the low performance of Filipino students without giving DepEd the chance to provide inputs.

The report was based on three assessments the Philippines previously participated: the Program for International Student Assessment in 2018, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study in 2019, and the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics also in 2019.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones said the report "insulted" and "shamed" the Philippines and she had
requested the World Bank to issue an apology.

The President commended Secretary Briones for calling out the World Bank on the issue hoping that a more accurate report based on the latest data will be made.

"I am sure that the Department of Education is working on a new set of data to be submitted to them so that they can correct their figures and data inputs," he said.

"On that note and for the sake of the transparency and policy direction, we would like to know the latest assessment matrix of student performance and achievement, as well as the latest national data and figures in terms of learning outcomes, especially during the pandemic, so we can identify which gaps need to be addressed," he added.

The President said budgetary constraints have been preventing the country from improving on all facets of governance, promising to continue working to boost the country's economy.

He also expressed hope that the next administration will be "more competent than us, more bright than us, and more productive than us" so that it can address the current challenges.

"Hindi ako nag-aano kung may mataas pa sa akin in performance. If it is true, well, I would encourage them, I would cheer them up, and I would be on the sidelines giving inputs of what I can provide for as an advice," he said. PND

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