A meeting with former inmates, KUL graduates in Kazimierz Dolny.

In Kazimierz Dolny on the Vistula River, the Rector of KUL, Rev. Prof. Mirosław Kalinowski met with prison inmates who, while serving their prison sentence, graduated from the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin. Among them were inmates who, in the framework of KUL Study Center at the detention facility in Lublin, studied subjects such as social work or family science.

Our 10 years of experience, having begun the first year of education in 2013, clearly showed that having a university diploma significantly strengthens the self-esteem of prisoners and makes it easier for them to return to normal life in the society.

Emphasizing this, Rev. Prof. Mirosław Kalinowski also confirmed that, out of almost 30 graduates who left the prison walls with a KUL diploma, only two returned to crime after some time and ended up consequently in detention.

As the Rector argued, this shows that what we call social rehabilitation or readaptation through education is effective compared to other programs. He also noted that the KUL project is unique on a global scale. Full-time studies are conducted both on the premises of the prison - for the first three years, and within the walls of the university for a part of the student-inmates.

The Rector of KUL also added that the experience in conducting lectures for people deprived of freedom is the result of many years of cooperation between the Catholic university and penitentiary services - not only from Lublin, but also from Zamość, Chełm and Krasnystaw.

Dr hab. Iwona Niewiadomska, prof. KUL and a psychologist, who directs the work of the Department of Social Psychoprophylaxis and who was present at the meeting in Kazimierz Dolny, drew attention to the importance of the KUL Study Center for the world of science.

For us as researchers and educators, she said, conversations with people who have experienced crime and isolation in their lives are very interesting because they show us the dimensions of reality, inherent both in a person and in external reality on which the process of social rehabilitation can be based. She also emphasized that it is crucial to treat each person individually, including those deprived of liberty, which helps to avoid creating stereotypes and even stigmatization.

A very important example for me, she continued, was the case of a convict whom I asked what studies for him meant. He replied that it didn't even matter whether he finished his studies or not, but that these studies have helped him, for the first time, to find out that he has dignity. He explained that he had been abused all his life, and coming from a family that did not care for him, he was quickly sent to a correctional facility and later to prison. It was only in the university that he got to know that he has a chance in his life. For cases such as this, Prof. Iwona Niewiadomska thinks it wise to take this kind action in the line of education.

The KUL Study Center at the detention facility in Lublin was launched in autumn 2022, but the university has been conducting classes for inmates for the past 10 years. The initiative is intended to enable convicts - in accordance with the content of the letter of intent signed with the Central Board of the Prison Service – to get higher education and to acquire significant ethical and humanistic values through them.

For us, the student-inmates declare, the most important thing is not to waste time in the place where we found ourselves.

Among the new students of KUL in the current academic year, there are several inmates who were recruited for the first year of studies in the second degree program which was launched this year in the field of family science (specialization: animation of the social environment). This specialization does not only suit the socio-economic needs (labour market), but also takes into account the formal and legal situation of inmates. Another specialty that is very popular among inmates is the assistant of a dependent person.

Since 2013, almost 30 people serving a prison sentence at the detention facility in Lublin have graduated from KUL.