45 Prison inmates write BECE
Forty five prisoners yesterday joined 372,781 candidates to write the 2011 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
The inmates, who are serving various sentences at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison, the Kumasi Central Prison and the Senior Correctional Centre in Accra, are aged between 25 and 64.
This is the second time that prison inmates have taken part in the BECE, following collaborative efforts between the Prisons Service and the Centre for National Distance Learning and Open Schooling (CENDLOS) to provide pre-tertiary education to the inmates.
At the Methodist Basic School in Nsawam where 10 male inmates of the Nsawam Medium Prison wrote the English Paper 1, the environment was peaceful, with security personnel guarding the inmates.
The officer in charge of inmates’ education, Superintendent Peter Afari Mintah, noted that it was not compulsory for inmates to write the BECE, adding that the decision was left to inmates who were willing and ready to write it.
Supt Afari Mintah said under the prison education programme which was started in 2007, teaching and learning materials were made available for inmates by CENDLOS.
He also noted that inmates who were able to pass the BECE were enrolled in the senior high school (SHS) to study various courses, after which they were made to write the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
However, he said, for security reasons, inmates who were still serving jail terms and had been placed in SHS were being taught their various programmes in the prison.
He said in November, 11 inmates would be writing various subjects during the WASSCE, while provision was being made for inmates to register for the Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) proficiency test.
He said the Prisons Service was also liaising with the universities to offer distance learning diploma and degree programmes for the inmates who were able to pass the WASSCE.
However, since the introduction of the BECE and WASSCE courses in the prisons, it had been faced with some challenges, since the inmates were made to write the examination outside the confines of the prison he noted.
That, Supt Afari Mintah said, had been resolved due to the fact that the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) had given the approval for the prison to be used as an examination centre.
He, however, noted that the major challenge in sustaining the programme was funding, adding that in 2006 the United Nations Development Programme was contracted to take up the challenge, which was abrogated in 2010.
He, therefore, appealed to stakeholders to help sustain the programme.
The Senior Finance and Administrative Officer at CENDLOS, Mr Samuel Ofori Arko, noted that CENDLOS was the major financier of the educational programme for the inmates.
He said as part of the Ministry of Education's mandate to make education accessible and affordable through distance education, an estimated GH¢15,000 was invested annually to provide pre-tertiary education for inmates in the various prison centres.
Last year, the first batch of 12 convicted prisoners aged between 20 and 58 and made up of seven males and five females who wrote the BECE in April while serving various sentences graduated with a 100 per cent pass.
The inmates, who are serving various sentences at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison, the Kumasi Central Prison and the Senior Correctional Centre in Accra, are aged between 25 and 64.
This is the second time that prison inmates have taken part in the BECE, following collaborative efforts between the Prisons Service and the Centre for National Distance Learning and Open Schooling (CENDLOS) to provide pre-tertiary education to the inmates.
At the Methodist Basic School in Nsawam where 10 male inmates of the Nsawam Medium Prison wrote the English Paper 1, the environment was peaceful, with security personnel guarding the inmates.
The officer in charge of inmates’ education, Superintendent Peter Afari Mintah, noted that it was not compulsory for inmates to write the BECE, adding that the decision was left to inmates who were willing and ready to write it.
Supt Afari Mintah said under the prison education programme which was started in 2007, teaching and learning materials were made available for inmates by CENDLOS.
He also noted that inmates who were able to pass the BECE were enrolled in the senior high school (SHS) to study various courses, after which they were made to write the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
However, he said, for security reasons, inmates who were still serving jail terms and had been placed in SHS were being taught their various programmes in the prison.
He said in November, 11 inmates would be writing various subjects during the WASSCE, while provision was being made for inmates to register for the Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) proficiency test.
He said the Prisons Service was also liaising with the universities to offer distance learning diploma and degree programmes for the inmates who were able to pass the WASSCE.
However, since the introduction of the BECE and WASSCE courses in the prisons, it had been faced with some challenges, since the inmates were made to write the examination outside the confines of the prison he noted.
That, Supt Afari Mintah said, had been resolved due to the fact that the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) had given the approval for the prison to be used as an examination centre.
He, however, noted that the major challenge in sustaining the programme was funding, adding that in 2006 the United Nations Development Programme was contracted to take up the challenge, which was abrogated in 2010.
He, therefore, appealed to stakeholders to help sustain the programme.
The Senior Finance and Administrative Officer at CENDLOS, Mr Samuel Ofori Arko, noted that CENDLOS was the major financier of the educational programme for the inmates.
He said as part of the Ministry of Education's mandate to make education accessible and affordable through distance education, an estimated GH¢15,000 was invested annually to provide pre-tertiary education for inmates in the various prison centres.
Last year, the first batch of 12 convicted prisoners aged between 20 and 58 and made up of seven males and five females who wrote the BECE in April while serving various sentences graduated with a 100 per cent pass.
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