Education essential for inmates

Editor,I recently visited one of the country’s prisons and I was impressed to learn that the Rwanda Correctional Services (RCS), is promoting education in various prisons.

Tuesday, January 01, 2013
Prisoners repair a bridge during Prisons week activities. The New Times/File.

Editor,I recently visited one of the country’s prisons and I was impressed to learn that the Rwanda Correctional Services (RCS), is promoting education in various prisons.The prisons education program needs support.Inmates should use their time in prison to study and engage in productive work so that they become responsible members of society upon their discharge.Apart from that education is core to reducing crime, as educated people are more law-abiding compared to the uneducated ones.Prison sentences should give people the chance to sit back and reflect on how they live.There is therefore need to look back and renew ones’ life while in prison.Inmates can transform their prison life into better opportunities by utilising the lessons got while in prison.The Rwanda correctional centre should be commended for giving inmates the opportunity to study.If all inmates take advantage of the educational programme, they would become better citizens upon discharge. Jean Pierre Bizimana, Bujumbura