Prison education can help rehabilitate inmates and prepare them for life after release. Programs vary by region and funding sources can include private citizens, charities, and educational institutions. While some laws limit government support for inmate education, studies show that it reduces recidivism rates and saves money in the long run. Advocates argue that educating prisoners leads to a safer society and promotes personal responsibility.
Prison education, or correctional education, is the job training or academic education provided to inmates while they are incarcerated. These educational programs can be part of prisoner rehabilitation and can help prepare prisoners for life after release. Prison education can be provided from within the prison, or it can be provided from other sources, such as vocational schools, colleges, or universities. Studies have shown that, in addition to helping inmates, correctional education can benefit society as a whole.
The educational programs offered in correctional institutions vary by region and facility. Educational programs are extremely popular in prisons. It is estimated that in most prisons, 50 percent of the population is in educational programs and the other 50 percent have joined waiting lists to do so.
Funding for prison education has long been controversial. Private citizens often oppose prison education, because they assume that the government, and therefore tax money, is solely responsible for seeking inmate education. However, private and even inmate charities can fund prison education. Educational institutions can also help with funding, because they could offer class breaks to inmates seeking higher education.
Government support for education for prisoners and ex-prisoners may be limited by law. In the United States, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 prohibited those convicted of felonies from receiving Pell assistance. The federal Pell Grant program gives less than 1 percent of its budget to inmate education. Other laws may, in fact, support the education of prisoners. For example, the Higher Education Act’s Grants for Youthful Offenders program allows the US government to spend US$17 million on inmate education, provided inmates seeking to participate in educational programs are under the age of 25. years and have sentences of less than five years.
Some people will always oppose correctional education, but statistics have shown that prison education reduces recidivism rates. Inmates who pursue education and complete programs while incarcerated are less likely to return to prison. The result is that less tax money is spent on housing, feeding and rehabilitating a potential repeat offender, because any amount of money spent on prison education saves double the money that should have been used to reincarcerate an offender. It also means that ex-offenders who have been given the educational tools and marketable skills needed to become productive members of society are very likely to use them.
Those who advocate prison education will likely point to studies that point to the low recidivism rates of inmates who were educated while incarcerated. They may also argue that educating prisoners indirectly translates into less crime and a safer society. Education can also result in increased respect, tolerance, and personal responsibility, so even advocates of prisoner education can argue that prisoner education safeguards the integrity of society.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
