More than half of the inmates at Dodds who sat the May/June Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams have succeeded, Superintendent of Prisons DeCarlo Payne has disclosed.
Speaking during a recent episode of the Public Affairs Department’s One-on-One, Payne shared that of the 46 entrants, 24 candidates secured passing grades. This includes six inmates earning Grade Ones and seven securing Grade Twos in subjects like English Language and Principles of Business.
Attributing this achievement to the prison’s rehabilitative programmes, which he believes have fostered a greater sense of responsibility among inmates, Payne said, “The prison has focused programmes, and I believe that some of the guys are telling themselves that they are already here and it makes no sense to be wasting the time when they can do things that will help put them in a better position to become more independent when they leave.”
He noted an increase in the number of inmates pursuing and succeeding in these exams over the years.
“In the past, we would have had a few people doing CXCs, but there weren’t many,” the prison chief said. “Now, the numbers are rising all the time. It means that people are taking responsibility for their actions and for their rehabilitation.”
Payne further noted that the success is a reflection of the prison’s efforts to offer relevant and engaging training programmes.
“We can’t force a person to rehabilitate. If you do that, it’s going to have a counterproductive outcome because it means they’re not doing it genuinely. We believe that a person will want to rehabilitate if they see the value in it,” he said.
Beyond academics, Payne shared that Dodds has expanded its vocational training offerings, revealing that over 40 inmates have participated in hospitality courses, including cooking and bartending, through partnerships with the Barbados Community College and Hotel PomMarine.
Noting an increasing interest, he shared that over 60 inmates are already set to join the next cohort.
In addition to these training programmes, Payne revealed that inmates are also being engaged in music, poetry, photography, and videography workshops. He said the prison service is taking the necessary steps to establish a computer lab to expand the programme offerings to include graphic arts and other areas such as information technology.
“These strengthen the existing skills related training that we have here like carpenter shop training, tailor shop training, autobody and mechanics training…. We have a whole set of projects in the pipeline that we are trying to help ensure that we do our part here at the prison,” Payne said, adding that with these new skills, inmates will have a better chance at being successfully reintegrated into society through self-employment or otherwise. (SM)
