Funding and staffing as challenges facing prison adult education and training centres in the Mmabatho, Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp Districts

MEd, North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2000The purpose of this research was to investigate funding and staffing as challenges facing prison adult education centres. The data was collected from Mmabatho, Klerksdorp and Potchefstroom districts in the North-West Province. Unstructured interviews were employed as the main instrument of research because of their various advantages. It emerged from the research findings that the Department of Correctional Services lacks the financial capabilities to pursue the implication of rehabilitation. It also emerged that as a result of overcrowding in prisons, prison learners have inappropriate and inadequate resources, for instance, lack of support materials and the learning environment (like accommodation) is not conducive for learning. Furthermore, the research findings indicated that the adult education section of the Department of Correctional Services is woefully understaffed to cover every registered prisoner. It also emerged that prison educationists are not adequately empowered or equipped to teach prison learners and are unable to deal with their (prisoners ' ) emotional problems. This calls for a continuous training of prison educationists in order to help them to be clearly grounded to prison adult learning and methodologies. This study comprises five chapters which have been discussed as indicated below. The first chapter is the orientation of the study, concerning the statement of the problem wherein the rationale of this study was presented. It further outlined the hypothesis, the method to be followed, the purpose of the study, the definition of terms which the research found necessary to explain. Chapter two conducts a review of relevant literature and examines prison adult education in certain developed and developing countries to determine the pertinence of these cases to the South African context. It also provides an overview of the past and current status of the South African penal system. Chapter three examines the method used for the collection of data, which encompasses procedures followed for data collection. Chapter four focuses on the analyses and interpretation of the data. Chapter five summarises the main points of the study. Accordingly, this chapter offers, by way of conclusion, a number of recommendations for the provision of need-orientated education and training of prisoners.Master