It is very difficult to believe that what was once dreamt is being fulfilled now. The idea of putting College Education behind bars incorporate with the recovery program is so inspiring: what was once planted as a sapling is now all grow into a large tree. Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) , Social Entrepreneurship Technology and Business Institute (SETBI) and Department of Education ( DepED) signed the memorandum of agreement to offer Senior High School inside College Education Behind Bars (CEBB). SETBI had signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the BuCor in 2019 to extend its education program to the bureau. The SETBI is set to open in April its College Education Behind Bars (CEBB) Campus in a new building inside the Davao Prison and Penal Farm (DPPF) in Davao del Norte. Social Entrepreneurship Technology and Business Institute (SETBI) SETBI had signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the BuCor in 2018 to extend its College education program to the bureau. “Education is vital for the overall development of inmates. As a matter of fact, education is in itself what rehabilitation in correctional facilities is all about. Through Education your outlook, habits and total perspective of life can be changed, “SETBI President and founder Dr. Aland Mizell said in a statement on Friday March 1,2024.
Dr. Mizell in his message said Prison is a tough place: It is neither designed for reform nor for rehabilitation. The only tool available for you is survival. To have higher education in prison is no easy task; there are obstacles in every direction. But obstacles do not mean defeat. Prison can be a defining moment in a man’s life , but not the definition of the man. It is undeniable fact that we live in a society where people do bad things sometimes so bad that being sent to prison is the only option. But it’s an undeniable fact that most of you inside jail today won’t be in forever sooner and later they will be free go back into society. The question is: will that be a one-way trip? Will each of PDL leave this place never to return? To do that, they must know how to survive – no, not survive, succeed – when they re-enter society. Statistics are stacked against them. Most prisoners get out and, eventually, the most of them find themselves back in. There are many reasons for the high rate of recidivism (the return of ex-prisoners to incarceration), but studies consistently show that the primary cause is unemployment. On the outside they need a job to eat. To have a place to live. To support your family. To hold their head high and know they can handle freedom. But jobs are hard to find when you carry a prison record with them. Still, they can't use that as an excuse. I believe firmly with solid training, recovery program to transform lives, you can overcome a prison record.Working at class assignments gives them a purpose in life, a focus, and the deep satisfaction of seeing hard work led to positive results.
In closing, let me thank you again. We still have more work to do. We need to more college education behind bars all jails and prisons in the Philippines. More college education behinds bars in jails. prisons less money the jails has to spend in the future, because we need to prepare as many inmates as possible to return to society as productive law abiding citizens.
