UPS's branch campus in Guayaquil, the National Secretariat of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (SENSCYT for its acronym in Spanish) and the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights held a special ceremony for 49 detainees in Cuenca's penitentiary who ended their third academic period of business administration and accounting.  

The ceremony was presided by Gina Godoy, coordinator of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights; Alma Zeballos, director of SENESCYT; Veronica Cepeda, director of the penitentiary; Fabian Villacres and Luis Oritz, director of the business administration program and representative of the accounting and auditing program, respectively. 

During the ceremony they awarded recognition awards to students with the best five grade point averages. "The awards encourage students to keep up their good work and in the future have better work opportunities", said Villacres.

With the agreement signed in 2015, UPS and its professors significantly support detainees with these two study programs. "Since the beginning of the project professors have been committed to their work so that detainees can have a suitable integration in society once their sentence is over", said Villacres. 

The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights is carrying out a life plan, where education is a fundamental part, with each detainee. The institution is concerned with providing the necessary working conditions so each student has access to research materials and books to do their assignments. "This guarantees detainees will be able to carry out their obligations in order to advance in their studies. It makes us happy to be part of this social rehabilitation model", said Godoy. 

For the director of SENESCYT, this project seeks to implement a public policy of inclusion and it invites people to get involved in this social rehabilitation program". "The students who ended this study period had to prepare and take exams just like any other student, there was no difference in the process that usually takes places in Ecuadorian universities", said Zeballos.

To end the ceremony, students presented their projects. In October they will begin their fourth semester. "This is a great project and we are totally thankful", said Jorge Carrasco, student (detainee) in Guayaquil's penitentiary.