Vocational education a priority for inmates: Namoloh

WINDHOEK, 30 JUN – With theft and house-breaking being the common types of felonies committed by the majority of inmates in Namibian correctional facilities, there is a need to impart practical employment skills to inmates.
These were the remarks made by the Minister of Safety and Security, Charles Namoloh in the National Assembly last week.
He was responding to questions by Popular Democratic Movement Parliamentarian, Elma Dienda.
Information availed by Namoloh shows that as at 23 April 2018, the two leading offences are theft and house-breaking which stood at 58 per cent.
“Therefore, the ministry recognises that the imparting of practical employment skills to inmates so that they become productive and self-supporting is of paramount importance,” he said.
To this effect, the ministry has devised custom-made approaches to assist inmates in attaining the requisite vocational skills in the contemporary job market as well as linking them up with prospective employers.
At present, welding and metal fabrication, joinery and cabinet-making, fashion and fabrics, animal husbandry, crop production, auto and diesel mechanics are some of the courses offered at the correctional facilities.
Additionally, panel beating and spray painting, bricklaying and plastering, electrical general as well as filter and turner are other vocational and technical trades available at local correctional facilities.
By the end of March 2018, a total of 267 inmates were engaged in various vocational training, excluding agriculture.
According to Namoloh, there are 13 vocational trades available for prisoners at present, while the 17 others are set to be introduced between 2018 and 2020.
A concern for the ministry, however is the fact that their vocational education programmes are not registered or recognised by the Namibia Training Authority (NTA).
This means that when inmates complete a given vocational course from behind the bars, they are not issued national certificates to present to potential employers upon release.
To address this predicament, the ministry aims to register its vocational workshops to become recognised vocational training centres.
Moreover, the available equipment, qualified human resources, workshops and other necessary items at correctional facilities do not meet NTA’s standards, the minister stressed.
“Hence there is a need for a substantial financial injection,” Namoloh noted.
According to estimates, the ministry needs over N. dollars 26 million to upgrade its vocational programmes to the required standards.
The projected funds aim to meet the human, physical infrastructure, machinery and equipment requirements of the NTA.
(NAMPA)