Luzira prison inmates excel in 2014 exams
Luzira inmates celebrate their success. PHOTO BY EPHRAIM KASOZI
What you need to know:
The best in the prison school is a convicted robber.
KAMPALA-For either the wrong or right reasons, they were put in jail. But that does not matter now for some Luzira prison inmates as they are all smiles after passing last year’s Uganda Certificate of Education exams.
According to the Uganda National Examinations Board (Uneb), which released the results on Tuesday, all the 27 candidates who sat for the examinations at Upper Prison Inmates Secondary School passed between Division One and Division Four.
Two candidates passed in Division One, seven in Division Two, while 12 attained Division Three and Six passed in Division Four.
Mr David Musinguzi, a convicted robber, emerged the best with Aggregate 27 followed by Grace Layet who scored Aggregate 28.
The head teacher, Mr Anatoli Biryomumaisho, who is also a senior welfare and rehabilitation officer at the prisons, said the performance was good.
“We are proud of the inmates because despite their imprisonment, they have offered themselves to study,” Mr Biryomumaisho said.
“Compared to 2013, our performance has remained steady and given our conditions in prison, this is better. We have also just been introduced to Sciences but still managed,” he added.
Mr Biryomumaisho described their study environment as unique, saying education in the prison facilities is slightly different because learners are adults who have issues with the communities they hail from.
He appealed to stakeholders to provide the required facilities and support the inmates.
“At Luzira prison, we have a reason to celebrate any success because prisoners are considered rejects of society but our mission is to rehabilitate and reclaim them. It is a journey unseen towards rehabilitation, but government bodies need to team up with us for better success,” the head teacher said.
“My firm belief is that getting a better grade from a hard core criminal who has shown the zeal to transform from criminality to civility is more than the performance of an entire district because one criminal can cause chaos in the whole district,” Mr Biryomumaisho said.
