Educational Training of Inmates in Awka and Abakaliki Prisons, Nigeria

Educational training is essential for the reformation and rehabilitation of criminal offenders; this is because education holds the capacity to change the lives of these offenders as they would become better citizens while contributing more to society upon release. Educated inmates can also secure jobs upon release leading to a drop in recidivism. Previous studies on prison systems and crime control have not been able to fully address the challenges facing educational training of prison inmates and the problems of corrections in Nigeria. This study examines the educational training of inmates and problems of corrections in Nigeria. While establishing education as necessary for reformation, the study finds that educational facilities at the prisons studied are grossly deficient and an antithesis to the goal of reformation. The study recommends the provision of quality educational training in Nigeria’s prison system.