By Alexander Villafania
MANDALUYONG CITY, METRO MANILA—Even as inmates, women seem to still fare better in school than men.
A 2012 report by the Department of Education (DepEd) showed that for women in Mandaluyong City’s Correctional Institution for Women (CIW), the passing rate for Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) test for the elementary level is 100 percent, up from 48 percent in 2010.
Likewise, the passing rate for A&E for secondary (high school) level is 86 percent in 2012, up from just 29 percent in 2010.
The passing rate is a result of an education intervention program under the DepEd’s alternative learning system (ALS) delivered through rehabilitation direction of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).
At least 252 female inmates were part of the BuCor-delivered ALS.
BuCor worked with the DepEd to start the ALS program in 2008, where it provided two regular teachers, 21 professional inmate teachers, and an education supervisor to manage the female inmates.
CIW Mandaluyong also provided the facility’s library and conference hall to accommodate classes. The specialized ALS delivery coupled with other intervention programs helped the female inmates get higher test percentages.
DepEd ALS Mandaluyong supervisor Josefina Espeso stressed that prisoners also need to be given some level of educational attainment to enable them to be reintegrated into society and to become a contributor to development.
In a smaller scale, ALS for inmates was also implemented at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Mandaluyong City where 22 male inmates have taken the A&E test. It is also being implemented at in Camp Karingal in Quezon City.
As of May 2012, there are at least 69,000 inmates nationwide, according to the BJMP. Of this figure, only 6,400 are females.
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