Vice President and Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sara Duterte lauded the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) for its support for the national education agenda during the recent 2022 Partners Appreciation ceremony held in Mandaluyong City.
“We are humbled by the recognition from our DepEd Secretary, Vice President Sara Z. Duterte,” BJMP chief Jail Director Allan Iral said Wednesday, Dec. 14.
“We will remain committed to the national agenda on improving the delivery of basic education to Filipinos by ensuring that those qualified persons deprived of liberty (PDL) are enrolled to the Alternative Learning System Program (ALS) in jails,” he added.
Iral said the provision of basic education and employable skills is included in the priority programs of the BJMP.
This year, a total of 18, 708 PDL benefitted from the ALS program of the BJMP through the “Tagapangalaga Ko, Guro Ko (My Guardian, My Teacher)” program.
The program as of Nov., has already produced 2, 499 persons deprived of liberty (PDL) graduates in elementary, 3, 414 in junior high school and 2, 395 in senior high school.
On the other hand, the College Behind Bars program, the tertiary education counterpart of the ALS in jails, has produced six college graduates among the PDLs in Davao City Jail, with 84 PDLs currently enrolled in the program.
The BJMP is also a constant support agency of the DepEd, during conduct of the annual “Brigada Eskwela,” wherein jail personnel are being mobilized to assist in school repairs, clean-up activities, and other preparations for the resumption of classes nationwide.
Likewise, local schools and students are constant beneficiaries of BJMP iniatives on community support and education. (Chito A. Chavez)