- NEUST and BJMP launch ‘College Education Behind Bars’ (CEBB) program to offer degree courses to persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).
- PDLs at Cabanatuan City District Jail can pursue degrees in Industrial Technology or Entrepreneurship starting Academic Year 2025-26.
- Hybrid learning model with NEUST faculty teaching on-site, aiming to empower inmates with dignity, skills, and a chance at reintegration.
The Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology (NEUST) has collaborated with the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in offering college education to Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs).
NEUST President Rhodora Jugo stated that through the promotion of the College Education Behind Bars (CEBB) program, the university seeks to open the gates of learning and provide education nearer to PDLs.
"We open doors of learning to individuals deprived of liberty, providing them with something more than an intellectual experience. We provide them with a second opportunity to remake their lives in dignity, with direction, and purpose," she emphasized.
The official stipulated that the university understands that each individual, despite making errors in the past, could develop, transform, and contribute positively to society.
"By bringing the gift of education to our brothers and sisters in prison, we are declaring their value and placing an investment in their future", Jugo said.
In the meantime, BJMP Regional Director JCSupt. Paulino Moreno Jr. emphasized that the Memorandum of Agreement entered into with NEUST is a move towards fulfilling the vision of giving PDLs the right to education, reform, and begin a new life "Education is a human right which must be enjoyed even by those locked up in prison", Moreno stressed.
NEUST Director for Curriculum Development and Evaluation Nancy Joy Mangansat revealed that the CEBB program will start implementation starting Academic Year 2025-2026 with the PDLs of the Cabanatuan City District Jail as pilot students, who may opt to take either Bachelor of Industrial Technology or Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship. The program will be made available to both PDLs who are already incarcerated and those approaching release.
It will be implemented in a hybrid learning modality, an integration of onsite face-to-face delivery and modular or online learning where NEUST faculty will lead sessions within the jail compound.
