The World Bank has decided to “temporarily remove” its report on the state of education in the Philippines after the Department of Finance (DOF) called on the Washington-based lender to recall the report.
In a news statement sent on Thursday evening, the World Bank expressed regrets that the report was “inadvertently published earlier than scheduled.”
The multilateral development bank admitted that the report was released sans inputs from the Department of Education (DepEd).
“This was an oversight on our part, and we conveyed our personal apologies in our communication with the government. Recognizing the inadvertent release of the report, we have taken steps to temporarily remove it from the web site,” the World Bank said.
The World Bank also agreed with Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones and said the quality of education in the Philippines had a “long historical context.”
“We have reached out to Secretary Briones on this matter and look forward to continuing our dialogue with the Department of Education on the opportunities and challenges in the education sector,” it added.
World Bank data showed it had 32 projects that were dedicated to or linked to education. Five of these projects are currently active.
The active projects include Social Welfare Development and Reform Project II Additional Financing and Philippines Social Welfare Development and Reform Project II. The projects aim to support the Conditional Cash Transfer Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to improve the use of health and education services by poor children.
Some education projects funded by the World Bank that have already been closed include the Learning, Equity and Accountability Program Support Project with DepEd, as well as the Early Childhood development implemented by DepEd, Department of Health, and DSWD.
The oldest education-related project of the World Bank in the Philippines, based on available public records of the bank, was to construct facilities and procure equipment for the College of Agriculture at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños.
Half of the cost of the project was financed through a World Bank loan. The loan amounted to $6 million and had an interest rate of 5.5 percent annually.
The loan, signed by former Foreign Affairs Minister Carlos P. Romulo and the World Bank’s fourth President George D. Woods in October 1964, was closed in December 1972.