Suhakam: 450 youths in rehab centres not getting proper education

comments     Claudia Theophilus     Published     Updated

About 450 inmates at two juvenile incarceration facilities are being denied proper academic education as requests for teachers to be stationed there have been met with a dismal response, said the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).

Furthermore, the Education Ministry has failed to ensure that teachers are provided for the 40 girls and 400 boys, stated the Suhakam visitation reports of two rehabilitation centres which were released today.

The reports, completed early last November, are based on visits by two Suhakam delegations to the Henry Gurney school for boys in Teluk Mas, Melaka, and the rehabilitation centre for girls in Batu Gajah, Perak.

The delegations were led by visitation sub-working group then chairperson Prof Hamdan Adnan and accompanied by secretariat officials Ahmad Hashim, Sharmila Sharma and Mohd Taib Hampden.

Both the reports, while maintaining that inmates did not face any problems in getting trainers for vocational skills such as tailoring, knitting and cloth-cutting, stressed that the main problem was the absence of trained teachers to conduct academic studies.

"This problem is acutely felt by the rehab centres' officers because they have to bear the burden of helping those inmates prepare for their examinations.

"The situation still continues, although the officers lack formal teaching training and admit to being unable to teach certain important subjects, especially English and maths."

As part of its recommendation, Suhakam had written to the Education Ministry's personnel and organisational division about this problem. It also suggested that the Prisons Department and Education Ministry discuss how to fill the vacancies immediately.

"In the meantime, the centre should appoint temporary teachers or on a contract basis while waiting for the ministry to supply permanent teaching staff," Suhakam stated.

Inmates are sentenced to serve a maximum of three years or until they attain the age of 21 for offences such as theft, playing truant, loitering in public places, experimenting with drugs, as well as frequenting discos, karaoke lounges, video-game arcades and gambling dens.

Job placements from ministry

Suhakam also noted that the social stigma against ex-inmates was very strong and hampered their future employment although they leave the centres as semi-skilled or skilled workers.

It recommended that the Prisons Department work out a mechanism with the National Unity and Social Development Ministry to ensure proper job placements for ex-inmates. It also suggested that a permanent child psychologist be stationed at the centres.

As Suhakam's Mohd Taib put it: "Society and parents should take up the responsibility of ensuring that their children, although ex-inmates of these centres, should be assimilated into society as useful and successful citizens.

"Most of the time, both shun them to the extent that they remain unemployed despite possessing various skills."

Its other recommendations include beefing up the centres' staff, like filling up the vacancy of a permanent hospital assistant, adding more computers and furniture, and giving special attention to inmates living with HIV by placing them in separate blocks.

Out of the 406 boys in the Melaka centre, 312 are Malay Malaysians, 62 Indian Malaysians, 27 Chinese Malaysians and five foreigners. Most of them are aged between 15 and 18.

The Batu Gajah centre has 35 Malay Malaysians, two Chinese Malaysians and a Thai national.

Copies of the reports were submitted to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Education Ministry, National Unity and Social Development Ministry, Prisons Department and the centres involved.



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