College Education Behind Bars
About.
Since 2016, the College Education Behind Bars has been a national leader in restoring and expanding college opportunity in the Philippines jails and now prisons. It is a four-year full degree granting academic program known for rigor and ambitious education; these programs transform the negative impacts of criminal punishment and create radical inroads of access to and opportunity for higher learning. Furthermore, College Education Behind Bars is the first of its kind in the Philippines and even in Asia. Education programs inside penal institutions lower the recidivism rates, decongest the jails and prisons, increase employment opportunities post release, and transform the lives of the
incarcerated for societal good.
The College Education Behind Bars (CEBB) program provides the Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL) the means to advance their education in prison. It also requires them to enroll in a recovery program while obtaining their college
diplomas as well as a re-entry and after care program. This holistic approach serves as a model of education as a deterrent to criminal behavior and of rehabilitation for women and men who have been in prison or jail to transform
their lives to become engaged and productive members of their civic communities.
PDL students enroll in the University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP) and use the same university assigned textbooks, follow the same curriculum and academic calendar, and complete the equivalent college-level assignments as the “outside” college students; when they graduate, they receive a diploma from the university. The only difference is that the partnering university faculty travel to the jail or prison to teach courses, instead of on the main campus.
The College Education Behind Bars model established by the SETBI serves as the model for the national implementation of the program in the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and the Bureau of Corrections facilities.
The CEBB program aims to achieve the following objectives:
Prepare PDL students for re-entry
Reduce the recidivism rate
Decongest the prison populations through active utilization of Good Conduct
Time Allowance (GCTA) and time allowance for study, teaching, or mentoring under the Republic Act No.10892
Reduce the unemployment among released PDL by providing education, skills training, recovery, and employment assistance to qualified individuals through the program
The College Education Behind Bars Program differs from other programs offered in correctional facilities because it is not a short-lived fix, a short-term program, or a brief certificate. Rather, it is a long-term journey. The four-year college degree program, incorporated with required recovery classes before graduation, provides a consistent way to prepare for work in society; it emphasizes punctuality, decision making, deadline compliance, responsibility, accountability,
ethics, faith, and other skills and societal values. This holistic approach not only supports change, but also builds self-esteem, removes the stigmatized identity, and offers the potential to give something back to society.
College Education Behind Bars Program currently offers the following types of programs:
Four-year college degree programs (diplomas)
Senior high school diploma
Technical Education and Skills Development Agency (TESDA) vocational courses
Recovery programs (pre-requisites for graduation)
After-care work and livelihood programs for transition, re-entry, and ready for work, including moral and spiritual development
Community engagement
Sports
International Conferences on Higher Education Inside Prisons
The Southeast Asian Alliance of Higher Education Inside Jails and Prisons
The SETBI partnered with the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and with the University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP) to establish an exemplary education for Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL). In 2018, College
Education Behind Bars expanded its program to the Davao Penal Farm (DaPeCol), with the Dangerous Drugs Board building the second campus at DaPeCol and with Davao del Norte State College as well as the Bureau of Corrections partnering for teaching and security, respectively. In 2022, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin C. Abalos, Jr., upon recommendation of Undersecretary Barretto, issued a Memorandum for the Adoption of College Education Behind Bars (CEBB) as an essential part of the BJMP’s Educational Development Program nationwide. Now College Education Behind Bars seeks to strategically extend the course offerings and thus the depth of its program, particularly its mandatory recovery classes by partnering with Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) through its Aruppe Office of Social Formation (AOSF). Higher education in tandem with a recovery program for the incarcerated not only transforms lives, but also converts them from tax burdens to taxpayers and from destructive citizens to productive ones while simultaneously reducing recidivism of ex-offenders and decongestion in jails and prisons. In the SETBI Model of College Education Behind Bars, the BJMP is responsible for all matters of security, and the University offers academic education and tuition. SETBI provides the facility by constructing the building and manages the program, including funding school supplies, building expenses, and after-care and recovery programs. SETBI also tracks students and their progress.
Today, SETBI has built and operates two campuses, the jail facilities and the correctional facilities in Davao City in the Philippines and enrolls 225 students this year in full time programs that culminate in degrees from USeP or from
DNSC. More than 100 students have graduated, many of whom are fully employed. Among those completing the SETBI program, there is a zero recidivism rate because once enrolled, SETBI students embark on a rigorous course of study that matches the breadth and intensity of the College Education Behind Bars experience. From the successful establishment of the college inside prisons and jails, SETBI has expanded its holistic approach in several directions. First, it initiated an annual international conference on incarceral higher education, recently completing the third one.
Second, SETBI conceived and founded the Southeast Asian Alliance of Higher Education Inside Prisons and Jails that rethinks access to tertiary education, supports practitioners in documenting and disseminating their expertise, educates the public about the field and having a voice in the policy arena, reduces the cost of incarceral education, addresses challenges, cultivates support, and establishes college in prison programs in partnership with colleges and universities across the country.
Campuses
At College Education Behind Bars at the Davao City Jail, we are offering co- educational courses for male and female students, partnering with the BJMP, USeP and Thompson Christian School. In addition, SETBI enrolls over 125 students at the DaPeCol Campus, with 100 students enrolled by partnering with the Bureau of Corrections, Davao del Norte State College, and the Department of Education. In this model, our students remain isolated from the main PDL populations by residing at the dormitory, built by SETB, attending classes until they graduate from the school.
Leadership
Dr. Aland Mizell , the founder and president of SETBI, and Attorney Susan Cariaga, the co-founder and Vice President of SETBI, lead SETBI’s day to day.
