DAGUPAN CITY, Pangasinan – Around 600 detainees at Dagupan City, Pangasinan Jail Male Dormitory joined the Department of Information Communications and Technology (DICT) Luzon Cluster I’s launching of a Tech4Ed Center on December 17, 2018.
The center was inaugurated through partnership with Dagupan City, Pangasinan Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)and Farm Out Call Center which donated five computer units.
Tech4ED stands for Technology Empowerment for Education, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development.
The Tech4Ed Center is a computer center specifically designed to serve as a knowledge hub promoting digital literacy where detainees can access and study educational modules, including those under the Alternative Learning System of the Department of Education and can gain a High School Diploma while inside prison.
Meanwhile, those who aspire to be call center agents after their sentences can study English modules to equip them with needed skills and knowledge.
The Farm Out Call Center pledged further that if a detainee shows outstanding potential, he can be employed in the company after her or his sentence.
“The establishment of Tech4ED Centers serves as conduit in reaching all Filipinos, particularly of the marginal sectors, the inmates who are probable victims of social and environmental circumstances, specifically poverty,” Rey Parnacio, OIC–Assistant Regional Director of DICT Luzon Cluster I said.
Aside from educational purposes, BJMP officers said the eCenter is beneficial in improving their program called e-Dalaw where, through skype or social media, inmates can contact their loved ones thus ensuring their connectivity with their loved ones, especially those who cannot visit them physically.
Designated BJMP officers will serve as center managers to ensure all transactions using the computers are lawful.
In 2019, a Center Manager Training will be conducted to further equip officers on facilitating the usage of the center
