Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola will on Monday release the matric results for inmates at the Barberton Correctional Centre in Mpumalanga.

The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) transfers skills to inmates through formal and vocational training to equip them for life once they are released.

It said education remains an effective rehabilitation tool for inmates which is used to transform their lives and it is one of the fundamental pillars of correctional services.

“Education also has a profound impact on inmates and contributes to their successful reintegration into society and it breaks barriers such as unemployment which often confronts ex-offenders.”

The department said the following pass rates were recorded in the last five years:

– 2016 – 72.1%,

– 2017 – 76.7%,

– 2018 – 77.3%,

– 2019 – 82.6% and

– 2020 – 86.3%.

Some of the inmates who have completed their matric, went on to attain degrees in various fields.

“What is worth noting is that DCS does not pay tuition fees for inmates but rather their families are responsible for the fees or inmates successfully apply for bursaries,” said the department.

Lamola will handover awards to best performing learners, educators and schools. He will also inspect some of the self-sufficiency projects at the centre including a bakery which produces bread for inmates in Mpumalanga, and the newly developed Orchard.

He will also handover a new Tractor Loader Backhoe to the Barberton Management Area in an effort to improve farming at the centre.

Source: South African Government News Agency