EVEN if they are in jail, inmates in the Balamban Municipal Jail can still hone their business skills through the Tech4Ed Center that helps widen their knowledge in digital literacy.

In partnership with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the program helps inmates integrate technology in their livelihood programs.

“This is a good program and you can be assured that the local government unit will support you. We are waiting for a new and bigger location in Barangay Vito, where we can put up not only computers but also welding machines so that we can train our PDLs (persons deprived of liberty),” said Balamban Mayor Alex Binghay, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019.

Binghay assured that the inmates will have another building for training centers.

The Tech4ed stands for Technology for education, to gain employment, train entrepreneurs towards economic development. The project is also in partnership with Japanese shipbuilding firm Tsuneishi which donated computer units.

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, in a statement said, the project provides access to the unserved and underserved communities such as PDL under the bureau’s care to bind the digital and education divide that would help them gain employment upon their reintegration to the community.

The PDLs would benefit from the various Tech4Ed platforms such as Pinoys (Leap), digital literacy, rotary eLibrary skills training, values and character formation, financial literacy and other relevant information and communications technology-enabled services and content.

Last June this year, the DICT also launched a similar program in the Carcar City Jail.