(Photo Courtesy)
ABUYOG, Leyte — Sixty persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) at the Leyte Regional Prison (LRP)here will have the chance to earn college degrees while serving their sentences under a new education program designed to help them prepare for life after incarceration.
The program, called ‘Project Paglaun’, was formally launched on Aug. 4 through a memorandum of agreement signing between the LRP and Abuyog Community College (ACC) at the prison’s Maximum Security Camp.
The program will offer a Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship, with formal classes scheduled to begin on Sept. 1. The 60 enrollees will be divided into two sections and will attend classes three times a week.
ACC president Clemelle Montallana said the program builds on the prison’s existing educational initiatives, which already include junior and senior high school programs.
“There is a need for the Leyte Regional Prison for a continuing education after the establishment of Junior and Senior High School,” he said.
Montallana said providing higher education to PDLs would give them knowledge, skills and livelihood opportunities that could help them become productive members of society after their release and reduce the likelihood of reoffending.
“We know for the fact that if we take care of our PDLs, it creates a good opportunity for society not to deal so much with recidivists of crimes,” he said.
Entrepreneurship was selected as the degree program after a survey of prospective students and an assessment of the practical limitations of offering other courses inside the prison.
Montallana said an information technology program, for instance, would require laboratory facilities, while education was considered already oversubscribed. Entrepreneurship, on the other hand, can prepare students for self-employment, business ownership and partnerships.
The program also takes into account the requirements of the Commission on Higher Education, including on-the-job training, which could be difficult for incarcerated students to complete.
Tuition and other education costs for the students will be covered under the government’s Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, or UniFAST.
ACC will also include the PDL graduates in its job-placement database and help connect them with potential employers after their release, Montallana said.
For the first semester, six ACC personnel will teach the students, with the number expected to increase to nine in the second semester.
Preparations for the program included arranging transportation for teaching personnel and preparing classrooms inside the prison. Montallana said the classrooms were constructed by PDLs themselves.
Correction Officer 2 Noli Ann Billo, acting deputy superintendent for reformation of the LRP, said the 60 students were selected based on their eligibility and the expected length of their remaining incarceration.
Applicants were required to have at least five years remaining on their sentences or to be expected to remain at the LRP for the next five years to ensure continuity in their studies. Priority was given to PDLs housed in the maximum-security camp.
Of the 60 enrollees, 57 are graduates of the Department of Education’s Alternative Learning System. Most are over 20 years old, while some senior citizens are also among those enrolled.
Billo said the initiative is the first college education program implemented by a prison facility under the Bureau of Corrections, although a similar program is being offered at the New Bilibid Prison through a private organization.
The initiative is supported by the Abuyog local government unit and the Commission on Higher Education as part of efforts to expand educational and rehabilitation opportunities for the PDLs.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
