Cape Town - Despite an 87.5% pass rate for Correctional Services inmates, the inmate population without matric remains high while enrolment numbers are low.
This was said by Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola as he released the matric results at St Albans prison in the Eastern Cape on Monday.
Full-time Correctional Services schools achieved a 95.9% matric pass rate and part-time schools achieved 63.3%, bringing the overall results for inmates to 87.5%.
This, Lamola said, represents an improvement of 10.5% from the 77% achieved the previous academic year.
Of the 143 223 inmate population recorded in the 2021/22 annual report, 203 sat for matric exams and 202 passed, Lamola said.
“In 2021, 192 learners wrote the National Senior Certificate exam and 148 passed.
“This year (2022) 203 learners sat for matric and 202 passed, 122 (52.8%) received bachelor’s passes, 56 (24.2%) received diploma passes and 10.4% achieved higher certificates,” he said.
“This in effect means that 77% of these learners qualified for access to tertiary education at a university or a college
“The trends indicate that the focus is on the quality of passes received by learners.
“Another positive story to be told is that a total of 11 Correctional Services Schools received a 100% pass rate, compared with eight last year.”
Four learners also received six distinctions.
Njabulo Moyo from Umlalati Learning Centre in Umjindi, Mpumalanga, was the best performing learner with an average of 87.9%.
“I want to take this opportunity and congratulate all learners who excelled in their results. You worked hard, and you will serve as a great motivator for the 2023 class who we are hopeful will surpass your achievements,” Lamola added.
Meanwhile, he also emphasised that all government centres must not only support learning, but they should promote it.
“Our enrolment numbers are low, yet our inmate population without matric is high.
“Education in Correctional Centres has long-term benefits for the country.
“Ex-offenders with no or little education have lower prospects of finding gainful employment and they resort to crime as they cannot overcome the myriad barriers they have to contend with.
“Let the doors of learning be opened. Every inmate must be made to strive to acquire education, and move from a sense of hopelessness to a sense of saying with education, I will be an upright citizen and my full potential will be unleashed,” the minister said.
He instructed his department to ensure all sentenced inmates take part in education, training and skill acquiring initiatives.
“This will be in line with our efforts of striving towards access to education for all.
“We don’t have to accept a situation where inmates will refuse to be trained by proclaiming that they have a right not to participate in education.”
Cape Times