Don’t wonder if your loved one who is a person deprived of liberty (PDL) and serving jail term may finish a college course. That’s not a far-fetched reality with the Bataan Peninsula State University (BPSU) extension program through the Unified Student Finance System which makes a PDL a virtual scholar.

Dr. Ruby S. Matibag, BPSU president, said the university’s extension program which started in 2014 in Marilao Municipal Jail in Marilao, Bulacan has enrolled 15 PDLs– ten males and five females– in midwifery course. Matibag, a nurse/midwife by profession has been deeply involved in the education of people behind bars. To enrich her knowledge on the subject matter, no less than Congressman Abet Garcia sent her abroad to observe how education behind bars system is implemented.

But why Marilao? Matibag explained that when she conducted research on the jails and related subjects Marilao Jail Warden Cliff Richard Torres was her co-author and also a member of “Health Behind Bars.”

Matibag, however, disclosed that the program will soon be replicated at the Bataan Jail soon. The BPSU extension program is the first of its kind in Central Luzon and second in the country. The “College Behind Bars” was also launched in Davao where it involved big stakeholders. “But we have to consult first the Bataan jail warden to implement the program,” she said.

The teaching staff at the Marilao Municipal Jail are from the BPSU who shuttle between Bataan and Bulacan once or two weeks to oversee the development and provide school uniforms and supplies.

The students are not left behind when it comes to learning system because “we adopt the same requirements being imposed by other schools,” said Matibag. On- line classes are also held when the need arises.I

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