RECOMMENDATIONS

With the call by the South African government for Technical Vocational Education and Training programme to address the artisan skills shortage, literacy should be seen as a gateway towards achieving this. The study therefore recommends to the DCS to use the advantages and contribution of literacy skills for more adult male inmates who may seem idle or feel too old to learn. Once they have gained the literacy skills, it is evident from the findings that they would be motivated to go for non-formal skills, while contributing to their livelihoods and towards the national economy after their release.

7.6.2 Partnerships

The role of tertiary institutions can be strengthened by holding open days to market their services to offenders while also facilitating and ensuring their financial assistance base. It is therefore recommended that cordial relationships and partnerships with tertiary institutions and private or business sector be created or strengthened where they exist. Institutions of higher learning and the business sector should look for their market in schools and correctional centres, and they should be seen providing a supportive role in facilitating financial assistance for the provision of education in these environments, by thinking out-of-the-box.

More female offenders should be employed as facilitators to benefit from the payment of subsidies or wages like their male counterparts. This could bridge the disparity and marginalisation of women in prisons, a feeling that was expressed by officials and female offenders interviewed. This study recommends that the Department of Correctional Services upgrades its support, both technically in the form of financial resources and infrastructure, and psychologically and emotionally in the form of psychosocial services for in all female correctional centres. Furthermore, the Department of Correctional Services should be seen being the main employer of its own “timber” after the inmates’ release. Considering the lack of qualified teachers as mentioned, the department should harness the skills of inmates after their release to plough back and be employed as teachers. The inmates would benefit as workers,

while the department would keep its own teachers who are familiar with the prison environment and can benefit other inmates and become their role-models.

Provision of life-skills and correctional behaviour is a mammoth task that the DCS cannot achieve alone. The use of partnerships with other institutions and organisations has already been mentioned in the previous section, and it is important to emphasise that again. Increased crime levels in South Africa are a cause for concern for everyone, and a multi-facetted approach and holistic strategies need to be put in place to circumvent the problem which has huge repercussions for the general economy and society as a whole. It is therefore recommended that while the DCS remains vigilant with security protocols, this should not hinder collaboration and partnerships with other stakeholders who are willing to provide more and innovative life-skills programmes. Similar recommendations apply to non-formal education programmes as their positive impact and role in transforming the lives of the inmates are the same.

It is therefore recommended that the Department of Correctional Services be more receptive to other stakeholders to partner with them, particularly in addressing the plight of the awaiting-trial detainees in accessing educational opportunities.

7.6.3 Inequities

Throughout the study, the concern was raised on the inequity between correctional centres for males and boys and those for females in terms of the unfair distribution of technical, emotional and psychological support and resources at the female centre. While the study would not generalise that all female centres were less resourced than the males, the female centre for this study was in a horrendous state. The discrimination against women and unfair distribution of resources on the basis of gender were appalling to say the least. Women are marginalised in society on many levels despite efforts made at national, community, at workplace and in households. This study saw that discrimination extending and following them even in correctional centres where they were a minority. The DCS has been advised in previous studies on the issue and this study is making a similar plea that women should not be discriminated against in correctional centres.

This study recommends that women be given their rightful place in terms of the national resources by being provided all the support they need; the support that is given to their male and youth counterparts. The recommendation goes first and foremost to the South African

Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) to review the equality status of women in incarceration centres in the country.

Incidentally, offenders acknowledge the support offered at various levels on their educational participation and endeavours. That support was from the officials; those officials with positive attitudes towards promotion of educational values and those with an understanding and the knowledge of the epistemological principles of andragogy were particularly applauded. But they were found to be very few; hence the need for qualified adult educators with grounded adult education methods of teaching and learning.

7.6.4 National Database

Through interviews with three senior officials in the management of the three centres, and the issue supported by previous literature on lack of a national database, this study, like Jules- Macquet (2014) and others, strongly recommends that an integrated national database for offenders through the integrated justice system must be established as a matter of priority. The study therefore recommends to the DCS, politicians and policy-makers that the establishment of a centralised national database is a crucial step in revamping the integrated justice system. 7.6.5 Innovation

Whereas many offenders are appreciative of the support provided by the correctional officials, other supporting agencies and institutions of higher education, the offenders are of the view that more could be done. More could be achieved, if the integrated, holistic, multi-disciplinary, mainstreaming and cross-cutting approaches and strategies envisaged in an integrated criminal justice system were applied, where all stakeholders are involved. The implementation of long- term programmes and targets as already set out and mapped out by the National Planning Commission (2011) must be supported by a highly integrated national system to support all stakeholders in the correctional services purview. Commitment and political will from all stakeholders must be well-coordinated to ensure the long-term 2030 vision for the criminal justice system is reached. Thus networking, collaboration and partnerships must be strengthened to work holistically towards the common goal of being proactive in addressing crime levels, rather than being reactive to the problem. Being insistent on ensuring education becomes mandatory for all criminals can help. This study therefore recommends that the Ministers’

declaration on mandatory education for all offenders be implemented in all correctional centres, including detention centres.

The DCS should also be innovative and be more zealous in introducing needs-based and relevant training programmes. For these reasons, this thesis considered that more could be done in exploring innovations in curriculum, especially in the non-formal education area.