41 Luzira inmates sit for UCE exams

Oct 18, 2016

Two of the inmates sitting the exams are on death row

Though incarcerated, Luzira Maximum Security Prison inmates still have hope for the future. A total of 41 inmates have sat for Uganda Certificate of Education Examinations which started yesterday.

n inmate carries out a practical as part of hemistry aper 3 at uzira rison hoto by etride udoola An inmate carries out a practical as part of Chemistry Paper 3 at Luzira Prison. Photo by Petride Mudoola

 

Uganda Government Upper Prison Inmate's Secondary School registered 44 candidates for the exams with two of the inmates on death row. Among the candidates who sat for the exams only five were female.

In an interview with New Vision, Gilbert Niwamanya, the head teacher, said besides the various security points that require everyone to go through before accessing prisons, there were no challenges along the way since the exam papers arrived on time.

"Having received a number of teachers from the Ministry of Education and Sports, education behind bars will probably improve and this year's candidates are expected to perform better than the previous years" Niwamanya observed.

Research conducted by the Luzira Inmate's Schools indicates that over 50% of the inmates were illiterate at the time they were imprisoned, but prison provides them with functional adult literacy classes as well as other aspects of informal and formal education.

 

 

"Science teaching offers some difficulty though. It involves delicate and expensive equipment. To get round that, Government has equipped the science laboratory with the necessary equipment to enable students go through science disciplines" Niwamanya stated.

He however said that formal education is rather difficult for adults and most learners drop out opting to join the informal adult literacy programme, before completing their education behind bars.

Improvement of the educational system in  jail will  help  to ensure  that prisoners  undergo the necessary  rehabilitation  hence  become responsible  citizens  upon discharge Niwamanya  stated.

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