DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/17 June) – The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)-Davao will have 21 third-year students for its College Education Behind Bars (CEBB) program when the school year opens in August this year, a jail official said Monday.
“We aim to reduce recidivism once an inmate is released from prison,” JO1 Michelle Yian, BJMP-Davao community relations service officer Yian said of the program in an interview.
Of the 21 tertiary students, she said 14 are males and seven are females.
She said two female inmates had been released from jail but were still attending classes held at the two-story building inside the jail facility in Ma-a, Davao City.
The students, all government scholars, have taken up four-year degree programs in computer technology and agribusiness. Most of them were arrested for illegal drugs, she said.
Yian said aside from college, BJMP-Davao had also expanded the education program to cover senior high school students. The initial batch for K to 12 program will comprise 20 male and 20 female students.
She said BJMP-Davao aims to link up graduates from CEBB with establishments once they complete their jail terms.
“We have a tie-up with Social Entrepreneurship Technology and Business Institute (SETBI) and will establish a probation period for the inmates. We will maintain contact with them and later link them up with establishments and agencies to facilitate their re-entry into the society,” she said.
She said the inmates’ jail term would be reduced once they complete a four-year degree.
“We have observed our inmate students have changed. They are now more disciplined,” she said.
In 2016, BJMP-Davao officials signed a memorandum of agreement with officials from University of Southeastern Philippines and SETBI to materialize the Prison Rehabilitation and College Education Behind Bars, a comprehensive college educational program for the detainees in Ma-a Jail. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
