Her Majesty’s Prison has reported that three prisoners who wrote Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC)examinations in January 2013 have passed with excellent results. All three inmates sat CXC Social Studies, in which two achieved Grade 1’s, and one achieved a Grade 2. One of the same inmates who got a Grade 1 in Social Studies also achieved a Grade 1 in CXC Mathematics.
Ms Shariffa Wallace, Rehabilitation and Development Coordinator, said “We want to congratulate our inmates on achieving high level passes in the 2013 CSEC examinations, and wish them every success in their efforts to empower, and improve, their lives. The key to rehabilitation is empowering offenders to have skills to function effectively in society. Participation in education classes is not compulsory within our establishment and therefore I must commend those inmates for making the positive choice to study, and they should also be proud of themselves. I also want to convey our appreciation to the Prison Tutor, Ms Gemma Felix, for all her hard work and dedication towards her students which has certainly paid off.”
Miss Felix became the tutor at HM Prison one year ago, and her appointment has greatly strengthened the delivery of the Prison’s education programme, providing a more structured learning environment within which the inmates can study for formal qualificationsin English, Mathematics and Social Studies. Miss Felix is the sole full-time educator at HM Prison and this year she had a total of 9male students and 1 female student who are working diligently towards achieving their subjects this year.
Of her students’ recent success, Ms Felix said“It is a great achievement for any student to have obtained such excellent results in such a short period of time. I am extremely proud of them and they should be proud as well. They have been diligent, consistent and committed throughout, but even more so during the last two months.They were very confident going into the examination room. Clearly, their grades prove the effects of hard work. Hats off to them!”
There are 9 more inmates who are currently studying for the CXC exams and CCSLC exams who will be writing their papers in May 2013.
The Prison’s Education programme is also supplemented at times by volunteers who assist inmates with basic literacy and numeracy. Persons who are interested in volunteering to teach inmates should contact Ms Wallace at HM Prison.
– Press Release
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
