Waldemar encouraged prisoners to study while he was in prison and established a university in the prison.

The University Center of San Martin (CUSAM) in Argentina could pass for a higher education institution like any other. However, the high fences topped with barbed wire and various guard posts reveal that CUSAM is located inside a maximum-security prison, about an hour’s drive from Buenos Aires, the capital of the South American country. The idea for the center came from Waldemar Cubilla, a young man who had been arrested three times but always loved to study.

“It’s a university like any other. It’s in prison,” he said. Al Jazeera Matias Bruno, professor at the National University of San Martin, working at CUSAM.

Comfort in learning

Waldemar Cubilla was just 14 years old when he was first arrested. He was born in La Carcova, a complex built next to Argentina’s largest open-air dump, during one of the country’s worst economic crises. Like many residents, Waldemar survived by scavenging food and items to sell. Until he turned to robbery.

Despite his life of crime, Waldemar continued to attend school. He loved to read and found solace in his studies.

“He knew that studying was the way to change his life, but things were difficult and he got involved in crime. He carried a gun and a book in his backpack,” said Gisela Perez, his partner and the mother of his two children.

At 23, Waldemar has already been arrested twice for armed robbery. The first time, when he was 14, it cost him a month in a youth center. The second time, he spent five years in a maximum-security prison.

Having completed his secondary education behind bars, he convinced the prison director to allow him to also study law.

“We didn’t have teachers there, but it was something. In the morning I finished school and in the afternoon I had access to law books. It was a good idea because I studied and could spend some time outside in my cell,” Waldemar said.

In 2005, he was released and enrolled in a private university to complete his course. But with little money, he returned to crime. He stole cars to pay for his studies and feed his family.

“It was strange to live in these two worlds: the world of crime and the world of a student,” he recalled.

On his third arrest, Waldemar was sent to a prison near his home. It was called Unit 48 of San Martin and was housed in a long-abandoned building. In his early 20s, he still loved to read, and his family brought him books when they visited.

Lack of literacy in prisons

It was in this prison that Waldemar realized how low the literacy rate was among the prisoners. There were prisoners who wanted to learn, but had very little basic knowledge. “There were many people who could not read or write,” he recalled.

Valdemar gathered his books and decided to teach some of the men to read. They asked the prison director to allow them to open a small library. And so it happened.

“The original idea was to create a library, just a place to read and study. Then we realized we could do more,” he said.

This is how the idea of ​​CUSAM was born. When Waldemar began organizing CUSAM, a university inside San Martin prison, he saw an opportunity to improve the lives of not only his fellow inmates, but also the prison itself.

“It’s much more than just studying. I remember that when I got out of my cell, I took the opportunity to talk to other prisoners, to find out what they needed. Talking about university was an excuse to improve relations between prisoners and helped reduce violence,” he described.

Waldemar and other prisoners from San Martin prison approached the National University of San Martin for help in creating CUSAM.

Since its founding in 2008, CUSAM has helped at least a thousand students. Waldemar graduated in sociology and currently teaches at the center.

Education reduces recidivism

In accordance with Al JazeeraSome studies show that education helps reduce the risk of recidivism. For example, the University of Buenos Aires found that 84% of people who completed a prison education program in 2013 did not reoffend in subsequent years.

“Higher education has the power to change the trajectory of incarcerated students’ lives,” said Corrections Director Jessica Neptune.