The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has registered over 10,000 inmates for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) exams over the past five years, according to The PUNCH.
The NCoS spokesperson, Umar Abubakar, in an interview with The PUNCH on Monday, revealed that more than 2,000 inmates are enrolled annually for these exams across correctional facilities nationwide.
This, he said, reflected the growing success and acceptance of the NCoS’ educational programmes.
Abubakar emphasised that the number of enrolled inmates increases each year, showing a greater commitment to education among the inmates.
“We have registered not less than 2,000 inmates annually for WAEC and NECO Senior School Certificate Examinations in the past five years in all custodial facilities nationwide.
“It is also good to let you know that the number of enrolment into these examinations is increasing every year, evidence of the acceptability of our academic programmes, as well as their efficiency of it.
“Specifically, we have registered a total of 10,252 inmates in the last five years”, Abubakar stated.
He also pointed to the special National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) centres in correctional facilities, which allow inmates to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.
The spokesperson noted that the NCoS faces significant challenges in delivering educational services to inmates.
He pointed out that there is no dedicated budget for registering inmates for external exams, leaving the service to rely on donations from philanthropists and organisations to provide educational materials and cover registration fees.
He said, “Providing educational and academic programmes for the inmates is actually capital intensive. Considering the number of custodial centres across the country, we have to provide even the most basic of their educational needs such as pencils, exercise books, writing materials and other educational facilities needed for such activities.
“Presently, there is no budget for registering inmates for such external examinations, therefore, we have to rely on the goodwill of philanthropists and other well-meaning individuals and Organisations”.
Umar called on NECO, WAEC, and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to offer exam waivers for inmates, as NOUN had done, to facilitate their rehabilitation and resettlement.
He said, “I am using this medium to call for waivers from NECO, WAEC, and JAMB for our inmates who are interested in these examinations, just like the NOUN has given us. This will make our work of reforming, rehabilitating, and resettling them much easier”.
Umar also touched on the psychological challenges faced by inmates, which often hinder their ability to focus on academic activities.
He noted that many inmates struggle with the emotional and psychological burden of their crimes and the conditions of incarceration, making academic engagement difficult.
“One of the challenges we get is preparing the inmates psychologically to engage in educational venture. While in custody, most inmates would have to deal with several psychological and emotional issues which brought them to the custodial facility in the first place.
“Many of them are haunted by the memories of the criminal behaviours they have committed, while others are challenged by the unique prison environment and conditions which stripe them of their liberty and demand that they behave in a particular way”, he pointed out.
The spokesperson noted that to modernise educational offerings, the NCoS was increasingly turning to digital learning platforms.
Abubakar disclosed that these platforms are being integrated into an e-corrections system, which would make education more accessible to inmates through distance learning programmes.
