83 per cent of prison school cohort pass CSEC exams

Human rights group, Stand Up for Jamaica, is announcing that 83 per cent of the inmates who sat the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams under its outreach programme this year earned passes in at least one subject area.

A total of 53 inmates from the Tower Street, St Catherine, Fort Augusta and South Camp Juvenile correctional facilities sat CSEC mathematics, English language, human and social biology and social studies.

Executive Director of  Stand Up Jamaica, Maria Carla Gullotta has hailed the results as a positive sign of rehabilitation in Jamaica’s prisons.

Gullotta says as more inmates sit the exams and become qualified they will be better able to reintegrate into the society and reduce the risk of again committing a crime.

Stand Up for Jamaica has been operating the prison school system for the past five years through funding  from the European Union.

Donations from the Reggae Geel Festival in Belgium have also helped in purchasing books and stationery which the inmates used to prepare for the exams.

Stand Up Jamaica says the commitment and work of the warders at the various correctional facilities has also helped in the success of the prison school programme.

The programme started with mathematics and English but was later expanded to include other subjects due to the high demand by inmates.