.IPCAN To Partner Imo State Ministry Of Education In Training Prison Inmates:
Inmates at the Owerri Prison may soon breathe a sigh of relief with the partnership of the Ministry of Education and the International Prison Chaplaincy Association of Nigeria (IPCAN). IPCAN is the umbrella body of some religious bodies engaged in both religious and social services in Nigerian Prisons. This good news emanated when a delegation of senior officers of the Association, led by the Chaplain General, Rev. (Dr.) Prince Gill Ogbonna paid the Commissioner for Education, Prof Viola Adaku Onwuliri, a courtesy visit in her office.
Rev (Dr.) Gill in his opening speech thanked the Commissioner for the warm reception she accorded the delegation. He told Prof Onwuliri that her appointment as Commissioner for Education is a step in the right direction. Stressing that the existing rot in the education sector, occasioned by several years of misgovernance, can only be eradicated by an experienced hand like Prof Onwuliri.
Furthermore, the Chaplain General decried the plight of the inmates in Owerri Prison which according to him is congested with about 2, 173 inmates. He informed the Commissioner on the need to aid the rehabilitation of inmates by supporting the prison schools where inmates can pass through formal education.
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Rev.(Dr.)Gill explained that the prison school which comprises only two classrooms in an uncompleted building lacked adequate facilities and a conducive learning environment. He went on to state that the school suffered neglect from the immediate past administration of Rochas Okorocha. Whom according to him, had planned to sell the Owerri Prison premises in order to relocate the facility to the new Prison Headquarters which his government built along Port Harcourt road.
Rev.(Dr.) Gill said it was appalling for the former Governor to have embarked on the construction of the new Prison Headquarters without consulting the Prison Authorities. According to him, this is the actual reason the Prison Authorities decided to abandon the new facility, coupled with the fact that the structure had already been declared unsafe for use by the Council for Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN).
He requested for a collaboration between the Association and the Ministry of Education for the improvement of learning by inmates in prison schools. He expressed satisfaction with the giant strides taken so far by the Rebuild Imo Government in the education sector. And called upon the Government to consider the prison schools in their programme by assisting in the provision of learning materials and the improvement of infrastructure.
In her response, the Commissioner for Education, Prof Viola Adaku Onwuliri, thanked the delegation for the wonderful initiative. She said the Rebuild Imo Government is passionate about the rehabilitation of prison inmates. Stressing that the prison should not only serve as a place of punishment but also a place for rehabilitation of inmates.
She assured the delegation that there request would be presented to the Governor for further consideration and necessary directives. However, she assured the delegation that the Government would do everything possible to support the education and rehabilitation of inmates. She maintained that the Ministry of Education will go beyond education to even assist in the general welfare of inmates.
The highpoint of the occasion came when the Commissioner for Education presented the delegation with copies of the Education Newsletter.
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