Mzuzu University (Mzuni) students last week donated 570 text books to Mzuzu Prison Girls Secondary School to promote education for female inmates at the prison.
Speaking when he presented the donation at the prison on behalf the students Mzuzu University Registrar, Yonamu Ngwira, said the donation was made following performance assessment of previous MSCE results.
“One of the inmate -student from this reformatory center was selected to Mzuni hence motivating the students to support the initiative and improve academic performance among the inmates,” said Ngwira.
According to Ngwira the school is not well resourced in terms of qualified teachers and a library.
Commenting on the matter, Assistant Officer in Charge (OC) for Mzuzu Prison, Owen Levi, said the prison is not only there to punish but to rehabilitate those who committed crimes and got convicted.
“Education is one of the activities which can assist in reformation of the convicts. However, we have quite number of challenges in providing education. One of the challenges is lack of qualified teachers, learning and teaching materials,” Levi said.
Levi said the institution is thankful for the donation which he said will go a long way in promoting quality and inclusive education at the facility.
He said the facility does not get teachers from the Ministry of Education as is the case with other government institutions, so they engage unqualified teachers from the surrounding communities.
One of the inmate students, Blessings Gondwe, said the books will help them during their studies.
“The books will help us to understand things better in class as we will be able to read on our own in the library thereby improving our performance,” Gondwe said.
Mzuzu Prison has for the past two years produced two students to public universities.