Group reconstructs classrooms, provides learning kits for inmates

A Non-profit organisation, Inmates Educational Foundation (IEF) has reconstructed classrooms and provided 100-seater chairs and tables for inmates at Ife Correctional Centre, Osun State.

The organisation also provided 250 notebooks and other instructional materials needed at the facility. IEF is an organisation concerned with the rehabilitation, reformation and liberation of inmates in all correctional centres across the nation through quality education.

Speaking during the presentation, Director of IEF, Alabidun Mahfuz, said: “Research on prison education indicates that seven out of 10 inmates in the nation’s correctional centres do not have access to education or are drop-outs, hence the need to fill the vacuum for a better society we all desire.”

Mahfuz said the group’s project has been entrenched in correctional centres in Lagos and Ebonyi states, where they have been able to impact over 2,000 inmates, enrolling more than 50 of them in external examinations such as the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), National Examination Council (NECO) and General Certificate of Education (GCE) in the last few years. 

He thanked Leap Africa, MacAuthur Foundation, Nigeria Youth Future Fund and Ford Foundation, for providing funds to execute the project, while commending the Nigerian Correctional Service for its cooperation.

The director said the feat would not have been possible without the support of partners who are committed to ensuring that every inmate deserves quality education.

Mahfuz stated that before the end of the year, some of the inmates would be enrolled for NECO, GCE and National Open University (NOUN) at the centre.

Responding, Deputy Controller of Corrections at the centre, E .F Tolorunshagba, commended the organisation for its spirit of selflessness and particularly praised the director of the organisation for his enthusiasm for inmates’ education.