THE Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)-Davao is planning to formally operate a Kinder to Grade 12 (K-12) Basic Education Program inside the Davao City Jail in Ma-a, following the opening of the College Education Behind Bars (CEBB), a public-private endeavor.
Jail Inspector Edo Lobenia, BJMP-Davao spokesperson and chief community relations service officer, said that the program is already in the pipeline and they are pinning their hopes that it will be translated into action by the coming school year.
The idea, he said, was conceived when President Rodrigo Duterte's partner Honeylet Avanceña went to the jail school facility.
“So parang nagkaroon ng plano doon. But as of today, 'yan lang ang update. They are still coming up with a plan, what partnership ang pwedeng mangyari kung anong school ang magke-cater,” Lobenia said.
He said that the best Christmas gift that they can give to the inmates is education through the college education behind bars program.
“Hindi pa siya sa implementation. They are still coming up with a memorandum of agreement but at the same time si President Dr. Aland ay nasa States siya so they are coordinating with our NGOs na tumutulong dito,” he said, referring to Social Entrepreneurship, Technology, and Business Institute (SETBI) president Dr. Aland Mizell. The CEBB was built and will be operated by CEBB.
“It is a great avenue for our inmates, for our bakasyonista,” he said referring to the inmates.
At present, there are 57 enrolled inmates in the college behind bars. Of this figure, there are 26 students under the Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness and 35 for the Bachelor in Computer Technology (BCT) with four sit-ins. A total of 70 inmates from 300 passed the application stage.
The College Behind Bars management is planning to also put up English proficiency course because it is targeting the inmates to be call center agents after finishing the course.
Aside from that, they are also targeting to add courses later on next year like Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management.
“It is a breakthrough in the Philippine Jail Management. This is the first time I think in Asia and in the Philippines. This is a very good advocacy in promoting the rehabilitation process. We call this an integral process because the BJMP believes that education is the main tool for rehabilitation. No rehabilitation tool could really replace education,” he said.