Education Secretary Leonor Briones, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and “Palace Pinocchio” Harry Roque can “high-five” each other to death after the World Bank apologized for releasing “prematurely” a report with a finding that 80 percent of our students “do not meet the standards expected for their grade level” (“Feelings over facts,” Editorial, 7/10/21)—in other words, flagrantly mediocre.
But that will not erase the one thing that has stuck in the minds of ordinary people which was found in one of the learning materials for children from the Department of Education: Defining a mythical creature (aswang), an officially released module went: “… ito ay isang diyos… kung minsan pinaniniwalaan na may mga pakpak… at gising kung gabi para makahanap ng maka*ant*t…” (“Not even found in Tiktik: Another bad word snuck into DepEd materials,” 6/14/21).
Mediocre is the last word that comes to mind. By that singular piece of crap emanating from our DepEd, the World Bank should have nothing to apologize for. It is what it is.
MARIA MARGARITA AYTONA
marimar_ay@yahoo.com