History of Prison Education in Ghana

Abstract

The needs to discipline and train prisoners for work, has become a convention that all nations including Ghana have come to accept with a view to churning out productive ex-prisoners. Thus, the aim prison education programs in Ghana is to turn inmates into useful citizens and the purpose of vocational training is to equip prisoners with skills which they can utilize to make a living. Additionally, the purpose for setting up the Junior and Senior High Schools is to give a second chance to inmates who dropped out of school before they were incarcerated. Similarly, the functional literacy program was introduced to teach illiterate prisoners how to read and write English, Akan, Ga, and Ewe languages. The chapter also discusses the duration, enrollment, teachers and the challenges of the programs. In addition, the general education program focuses on the curriculum, examination, and class attendance. The themes covered provide information on how prisoners are prepared toward reintegration in Ghana.