Prison taught me to teach

 

 

However, when I further define the question by letting the inmate know that he can tell me about his family, his hobbies, what occupies him in prison, he thenrealises that I am a friend and not particularly interested in knowing why he was detained. It is amazing how the inmate opens up and the subsequent stories he tells.

 

Over time, inmates will share the pain that they have endured, their shattered dreams and, maybe once in a while, something that gives them joy. As I listen to each story, I try to offer encouragement and motivation.

 

Some stories bring tears. I believe that most of these guys want to be happy and do the right thing. When I see an inmates experience his “nastiest” moment and know they are ready to turn their life around and give back to the community, it does not get much better than that.

 

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Fred Ndorere’s story will bear me witness. The 50-year-old father of two was sentenced to death for aggravated robbery in 1999 and was later referred to the condemned section for inmates sentenced to death.

 

For 19 years, he waited for the hangman to say: “Let’s go,” but this did not happen. Instead of sinking in despair, he chose to become a teacher and teach his fellow prisoners. 

 

He realised that only 10% of the condemned inmates had completed O’level at that time.

Ndorere then proposed to the Commissioner General of Prisons, Dr Johnson Byabashaija, to set up a school in prison. His proposal was accepted. The school was established in 2000 and the pioneer candidates sat for their Primary Leaving Examinations later that year.

 

“I started teaching when I was still in the condemned section. Most inmates were not educated, which made me think that there was a correlation between crime and lack of education,” Ndorere says.

 

On June 13, 2005, Ndorere’s sentence was commuted to 20 years after Susan Kigula and 417 other death row inmates petitioned the Constitutional Court against the death penalty.

 

Ndorere, now left with four years to complete his sentence, is profoundly proud of his pioneer students. He says that some of them have completed a diploma in small scale business management and entrepreneurship offered byMakerere University Business School (MUBS) in the prisons.

 

“Despite the challenges we encounter as inmates, it gives me a lot of joy and pleasure to see that most of my pioneer students have completed a diploma. Even those who left prison are now employed, having attained education and acquired skills while in jail,” Ndorere says proudly.

 

 

According to MUBS, the prisoners who completed their studies in the academic year 2013/2014 performed better than other students. Twelve inmates obtained second class upper diplomas, while the best student obtained a Continuous Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.95 out of the possible 5.00.

 

With more than 10 years’ experience teaching in prison, Ndorere says his best students include Joseph Ekusai, Pascal Manana and Henry Agume. Agume has now successfully completed his degree in law.

 

 

Teachers in prison do not receive a salary for their services, but get some privileges. These include better facilities for sleeping and limited manual labour. But even without pay, Ndorere is determined to see fellow inmates attain education.

 

He says he left behind two children: “I was arrested when my first-born was in Primary One, while the second-born was in nursery.

 

My wife passed away while I was in jail. Fortunately, my children have managed to complete university with support from well-wishers.”

 

Clad in bright yellow, orange and white uniforms, the students converge in a small room that serves as a classroom. Often the students compete for space because the room is small.

 

Minutes later, the mathematics teacher arrives and the class monitor is tasked with distributing exercise books and pens. More students arrive to attend the mathematics lessons.

 

 

 

Training people who happen to be in conflict with the law requires a lot of patience, Ndorere says. 

 

If an inmate refuses to attend class, Ndorere says many factors contribute to that. Then if he is silently crying in class, the inmate teacher says he gives the person space and at some point asks him if he wants to talk.

 

Dennis Mujuni, an inmate head teacher responsible for the secondary section, says life in the condemned section was not a bed of roses. “You wake up every morning thinking you are going to meet the hangman. I learnt how to pray every day.”

 

For a man who has spent 12 years in confinement, prison life has taught him a lot.

 

 

“My sentence has been a very good experience and what I would say is that prison is a very good institution although the public has a negative perception. It has helped me to harmonise the three tenses; the past, the present and the future.” “I do not think I would get physical if I left here and somebody engaged me in a fight or argument. I realised the value of true freedom in prison,” he says.

 

For a man who had dropped out of school, perhaps the best thing that ever happened to him was going back to school.

 

“I had completed O’level and opted to join the Police force because I had no money for further studies but while in prison, I began as a voluntary teacher since it was the primary section that started first. Later, when they advanced to the secondary section, I enrolled.

 

“I enrolled for A’level and completed it. I then acquired a certificate in entrepreneurship and small business management.

“As a prisoner it hurts to see that the public does not appreciate the work done by the prisons department.

 

When we are brought here, the outside world thinks we do not change, but we do,” Mujuni says. Mujuni says upon discharge, most prisoners are different people from who they were when they were taken in.

 

 

He says imprisonment has been a major turning point in his life and has taught him to do things differently. There are things he would never have known, but has come to learn them from prison.

 

Anatoli Biryomumaisho, the headteacher of the Upper Prison Inmate’s School, says the school comprises the primary, secondary and university sections. Primary section is private since the teaching is entirely done by inmates.

 

Secondary section is run by the Government with teachers from Ministry of Education, though inmate teachers partly engage in teaching. At university level, the inmates opt for discussion group leaders.

 

 

Asked about the criteria used to select inmate teachers, Biryomumaisho says some of the prisoners come in when they are qualified. Others are enrolled after excelling in particular papers at different levels.

 

Currently, the schools have 77 inmate teachers and 25 government-employed secondary school teachers. These cover the condemned section, the main Boma of Upper Prison, Murchison Bay Prison and Luzira Women’s Prison.

 

“Education enhances discipline and inculcates a sense of responsibility among the inmates. That is why they are capable of running the school, teaching their colleagues without being paid and realising good results at all levels,” Biryomumaisho says.

 

The staff work together with inmates in managing the schools. There are currently three inmate co-head teachers in the primary, secondary and university sections.

 

“Being put in position of responsibility as a teacher is also a token of recognition that you are a person who can inspire others, who can be an example to others regardless of all us being prisoners, Biryomumaisho explains.

 

The prison department also recruits prisoners as teachers because there is a lack of teachers.

 

“The underlying reason why we have inmate teachers is that we want to maintain the sense of ownership. Education in Uganda’s prisons was introduced by inmates,” he says.

 

 

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Many factors influence the decision to take a suspect to jail. People in conflict with the law are sent to prison to deter them from committing another crime.

 

Dr Johnson Byabashaija, the commissioner general of prisons says their rehabilitation success was on the realisation that prisons service during the colonial time was premised on a wrong philosophy.

 

“The prison system was not designed for correction, but punishment. Therefore, procedures do not encourage offender correction. Yet there has to be more to prison than punishment,” Byabashaija says.

 

A report by the African Journal of Criminology and Justice indicates that in recent years, recidivism (reoffending) has been reduced. This is because of the introduction of correctional programmes.

 

Recidivism refers to the number of times the same person is jailed in a year. The report further indicates that Uganda has the best prisons rehabilitation programmes in Africa and ranks fourth globally, going by the re-offender rate.

 

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Netherlands tops the world as the place with the least criminals and closed its detention facilities due to lack of criminals to be incarcerated. Switzerland ranks second with recidivism of 22% followed by Norway 30% and Uganda 32%.

 

This implies that in Uganda, out of every 100 inmates released, only 32 would be back in prison within a year. In Africa, Uganda is followed by Zambia 33%, Rwanda 36%, Kenya and Tanzania 47%.

 

As of December 2013, the report showed the US as the country with the worst crime record in the world, with a recidivism rate of 90%. It was followed by South Africa, Germany and Asia tying at 74%.

 

Formal education, agriculture, vocational training, adult literacy, religious empowerment, counselling and guidance are some of the rehabilitation programmes offered within Uganda’s prisons.

 

Vocational training programs include carpentry, metal works, mechanics, engineering, building and construction, plumbing, leatherworks, handicraft, weaving, tailoring, hair dressing and beauty are among the courses offered to inmates.

 

Byabashaija says rehabilitation is the only way to minimise re-offending. Such programmes prepare prisoners for life after jail because they equip inmates with skills to enable them become self-sufficient upon discharge.

 

 

“Society will be safer with a system that excels as a correctional organisation. This calls for critical reforms in the current prison systems to influence transformation of prison services to correctional centers,” Byabashaija says.

 

Upon admission to prison, a prisoner is introduced to various rehabilitation programmes. Each prisoner is then expected to engage in a programme of their interest.

 

A quantitative study conducted by Uganda Prison Services indicates that much as formal education helps prisoners to become productive after serving a sentence, it is still optional for one to undertake education in prisons.

 

Frank Baine, the prison’s publicist, recommends that education in prisons should be made compulsory for all prisoners if the Government is to achieve its goal of universal education.

 

 

“Education is given priority because it plays a vital role in reduction of recividism. However, within its 239 prison units, formal skills are only provided in eight prisons. As a result, prisoners in other facilities miss the opportunity to acquire education,” Baine says.

 

Education is only provided in Luzira Upper Prison, Murchison Bay Prison, Luzira Women’s Prison, Kigo Prison, Gulu Prison, Mbale Prison, Mbarara Prison and Arua Prison.

 

Vocational training equips inmates with practical skills which support them in life after prison. It encourages flexibility and dynamic development of an inmate’s life skills. It enables prisoners to keep pace with the rapidly changing work environment brought about by technological progress and development in the organisation of work, Baine says.

 

The study established that religious empowerment has temporary impact on the character of an individual. This is due to the lack of continuity of the programme on an individual upon release from prison.

 

Counselling extends beyond the prison cells to the community of origin of an inmate to prepare both the inmate and the receiving community to live together. The study, however, noted that this is not done.

 

Baine recommends that an arrangement within the top management of Uganda Prison Services and social workers should be put in place so that religious empowerment is followed the way it is laid down.