QUALITATIVE EDUCATION FOR PRISONERS: A PANACEA TO EFFECTIVE REHABILITATION AND INTEGRATION INTO THE SOCIETY

Incarceration of offenders has increased dramatically over the years. Nonetheless, more ex-prisoners still go back to the prison. The failure of correctional institutions to reduce crime needs to be addressed. Rehabilitation of prisoners via qualitative and vocational education is necessary. This study investigated the perception of prison staff and the academic staff of College of Education, Agbor on the effect of qualitative education on prisoners as a panacea for their rehabilitation and integration into the society. A 24-item questionnaire was developed and administered to 200 subjects randomly drawn from staff of five prisons in Delta State and the staff of College of Education, Agbor. The result showed that the respondents agreed that qualitative and vocational education for prisoners were inadequate. There was no relationship between prisoners ’ rehabilitation and formal education. Based on the finding, it was recommended that prisoners should be given qualitative and vocational education for rehabilitation and integration.