Twenty inmates from the Makeni Correctional Centre have graduated from the University of Makeni on Saturday 16th March 2024.

The Cohort comprises of 17 male and 3 females. This academic initiative would make education more accessible to many inmates especially those who could ordinarily struggle to access Higher education in a country where the cost of Tertiary Education is soaring.

According to updates from the Sierra Leone Correctional Center, the inmates graduated with a twin Certificate in Community Development Studies and Entrepreneurship- a course that lasted six months.

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While the course lasted, tutors conducted classes inside a make- shift structure in the Makeni Correctional Centre. Modules taught include Information Technology, Communication Skills, and Leadership and Management.

The Course will continue unabated in succeeding years, according to the course Coordinator Unisa Patrick Kamara.

“With time we hope to introduce degree programmes as well for inmates. It’s something we won’t relent about; it’s our way of giving back to society,” the Course Coordinator said.

Meanwhile, in 2021, fifteen (15), inmates who were the first batch of benefactors of the programme. There is a growing recognition of the need to equip prisoners with the skills and education needed to obtain work on release’.  This Educational Programme at the Makeni Correctional center has a significant impact on reintegration and, more specifically , employment outcomes for inmates who have served their sentences.