School inside Manila City Jail an educational boost to BJMP inmates
By Chito Chavez
Believe or not, there is a school inside the jail facility manned by the Bureau of Jail management and Penology (BJMP) in Manila.
As proof that all is not lost for the persons deprived of liberty (PDL), a three-storey school building was constructed inside the Manila City Jail Male Dormitory to provide the needed educational boost to make them become productive citizens upon their release and reintegration in the mainstream society.
The P45 million project funded by the Manila city government through its Division of City consists of three classrooms with a capacity of 50 to 60 each, a multi-purpose hall large enough to accommodate 150 people and a registrar’s office where the documentary assessment and enrollment of the PDLs are filed.
Before its construction during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the PDLs had undergone modular learning schemes inside the jail cells.
The BJMP jail officers with teaching backgrounds are tasked to supervise and monitor the PDLs’ educational development in the daily classes from 9 a.m to 12 p.m.
Of the total jail population of 4,418 PDLs, 1,232 (27.8 percent) are enrolled in high school and 517 others (16.22 percent) are at the elementary level.
Manila City Jail warden Supt. Elena Rocamora expressed high hopes that the school inside the facility will entice more inmates to enroll in the BJMP’s alternative learning system (ALS) of education next school year.
With the construction of the school building, Rocamora stressed that the PDL learners will be in a “school-feel” mode while in jail.
With the formal school setting, Rocamora noted that the PDL learners will attend their classes in proper uniform with free school supplies provided by the BJMP.
“We can assure them (PDLs) that jail is not the end of their dream for a better life. It is a place to develop their character to become a better person through proper education.’’ Rocamora said. (Chito A. Chavez)