Children in Prison in South Africa - Community Law Centre

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Leeuwkop were extremely demotivated.Researchers were also told thatprisoners had a low level of literacyand were unfamiliar with the disciplineand routine of a school environment.,This, coupled with the lack of motivationand regular attendance of staff, madeit difficult to initiate children in alearning culture.from Grade 1 to matriculation every week day. However,researchers were told that teaching materials arelimited and outdated. At this facility, the authoritiesalso said that they help prisoners access tertiaryeducation by obtaining application forms, submittingassignments and so on. Assistance is sometimes'given by the Department of Education.At Pretoria Local, researchers were told that sevenjuveniles attend school four times a week. Althoughthere are two qualified teachers and six unqualifiedstaff, and five prisoners also assist with the teaching,there are no classrooms and lessons are taught individed corridors. Prisoners may also register forcorrespondence studies.There are libraries at many of the prisons, includingPollsmoor, Barberton and Thohoyandou where thereis one library in each of the four sections. Often booksare donated and some are provided by CorrectionalServices.Obstacles to delivering educationalprogrammesAt Leeuwkop, researchers were told that the schoolfailed to operate between November 1996 and March1997 because 'they were waiting for the new syllabusand text books' which the Gauteng EducationDepartment was supposed to have sent. When askedwhy they did not proceed, they were told that theprisoners had refused to attend school until the newmaterials had arrived. One teacher, however, saidthat the school had not been functioning since she: arrived in 1994 due to staff problems and failure toreport for work. As observed elsewhere, the staff atSometimes, researchers were told, 'no staff were available to take thechildren from their cells to school on aregular basis. At St Albans, where thechildren attend school with theadults, the authorities said there wasa problem finding staff to take the children to theschool. At Pollsmoor, where the school is reachedthrough the adult section, researchers were advisedthat, when the prison does not have enoughfunctional staff members to escort the children,they are not able to attend.At many prisons, it seems, there is a complete failure toprovide a regular daily school programme for the children.Some sense of the chaos surrounding educationprovision was obtained at Odi Prison. One child saidhe attends school three times a week. A second saidthat he had wanted to register but had been tofd to'wait until his name is called'. Another said he hadbeen informed that he had to buy his own books whichhe said his family could not afford. Two juveniles saidthey were not interested in attending school becausethey were serving such short sentences. Another boyhad tried to put his name down for arts and crafts butsaid that authorities 'hadn't taken his name'. A boysaid he wanted to visit the library, but reported that it .was always locked. The library was indeed locked onthe day of the visit.At Pollsmoor, researchers were told that school startsin January, and children could only attend if theyregistered at the beginning of the year. Programmesrun for only three hours a morning up to standard 6.There are also insufficient places at the school whichtakes only 150 children and juveniles. No programmesat all are provided at the Pollsmoor Admission Centreon the grounds that the children here are waitingplacement in other parts of the prison or other prisonsaltogether. It was noted, however, that chHdren at theAdmission Centre often wait from nine months to aEDUCATION AND TRAINING
year before they are transferred, and that childrenserving short sentences may complete them here. AtPollsmoor, the sentenced prisoners are allowed to studyby correspondence but must pay for it themselves.At the Westville Women's Prison, the girls said theywould like to attend school but there were no teachers.Although there is an examination centre, adults whohad tried to study by correspondence said that thetutorial material always arrived too late and that therewas no opportunity to write exams. The girls spendtheir days working with the adults - mainly sewing.school but, due to the shortage ot teachers, wasdoubtful as to whether this would work.The five girl children at Thohoyandou reportedlyattended school every day. They said they had'enough' books. However, the authorities said theycannot accommodate children who.come to theprison after the beginning of the school year.At Brandvlei, the children had been told that the parole.board would take into account their participation ineducatioh programmes at the prison. As a result,attendance is comparatively high with half the youthin the prison attending school.Reluctance to attend schoolThe children themselves are often reluctant to attendschool.At Kimberley, teachers complained that the childrenwere not interested in attending classes. AtThohoyandou, the authorities said they had difficultyin persuading the children to attend school as theydo not 'see it as a reality'. None of the children interviewedwas attending school. Some said they wouldhave joined if they had been told how to enrol. It wasnot clear to the researchers why some of the childrendid not know about the school as they had been inprison for a long time. At this prison, the educationistthought children should be compelled to attendUnsentenced children"(Unsentenced) Juveniles should be provided, wherepossible, with opportunities to pursue work, withremuneration, and continue education or training, butshould not be required to do so." (UNRULES IBBJNo education at all is provided'for unsentenced children.Because many of these children spend months inprison awaiting the finalisation of their cases, it wasnoted with concern that they often lose a year ormore of their education. As mentioned, children awaiting
Page 2 and 3: • ContentsINTRODUCTION 1ACKNOWLED
Page 4 and 5: almost certainly because they tear
Page 6 and 7: Figure 2 gives a breakdown of child
Page 8 and 9: THANKS ARE DUE TO:The children and
Page 10: .Ekuseni Youth CentreThe Ekuseni Yo
Page 13 and 14: 1• Definition of Children andJuve
Page 15 and 16: age of 18 with their own age groups
Page 17 and 18: Dedicated facilities for JuvenilesT
Page 19 and 20: At the Pollsmoor Admission Centre,
Page 21 and 22: Separation of sentenced and unsente
Page 23: Beds and bedding"Every juvenile sho
Page 26: At Pietersburg, the researcher was
Page 29 and 30: are virtually unoccupied for long p
Page 31 and 32: At Rustenburg, a qualified, nurse i
Page 33 and 34: At Pretoria Central, a new prison,
Page 35 and 36: offers them a 'good opportunity of
Page 37: The South African Constitution ensh
Page 42 and 43: trial- are the responsibility of th
Page 44: Where programmes are jn placeIn som
Page 47: At Westville Youth Centre, there is
Page 50 and 51: VIOLENCE IN PRISONS
Page 52 and 53: AssaultAs part of their mission sta
Page 54 and 55: of 24, sometimes without even a tel
Page 56 and 57: "Personnel should be qualified and
Page 58 and 59: the night at 3pm. In some instituti
Page 60 and 61: the ages of 15 and 17. In an emerge
Page 62 and 63: Generally, serious problems are ref
Page 64 and 65: Alternatively, if a charge is to be
Page 66 and 67: One of the consistent patterns that
Page 68 and 69: Often children say that they are, n
Page 70 and 71: the names of their lawyers. Three o
Page 72 and 73: Bail"Every child has the right not
Page 74 and 75: Postponements and finalisation of c
Page 76 and 77: Figure 7 shows the length of senten
Page 78 and 79: How the Children are Cared For8. An
Page 80: Trial40. Parents or guardians shoul

Children in Prison in South Africa - Community Law Centre

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