Key Points
- Sixty-three inmates graduated from UCC under the Prison Inmates Tertiary Education Program.
- Best student Matthew Milluzieh reflects on education’s power to reform.
- Government and prison officials emphasize the importance of educational rehabilitation for inmates.
Sixty-three inmates from the Nsawam Medium Security Prison have graduated from the University of Cape Coast (UCC) after successfully completing various degree programs.
The ceremony, held within the prison precinct, marked the ninth session of the university’s 57th congregation and the first-ever graduation under the Prison Inmates Tertiary Education Programme (PITEP).
This initiative, launched by the Plan Volta Foundation and in partnership with the Ghana Prisons Service, offers incarcerated individuals free access to university education while serving their sentences.
The graduates received degrees in subjects such as Commerce (Accounting and Management) and Junior High School Education, awarded through UCC’s College of Distance Education (CoDE).
PITEP aims to rehabilitate inmates by providing them with academic and professional skills, enhancing their potential for reintegration into society after their release.
Best student speaks on the value of education in prison
Matthew Milluzieh, who was named the Best Student of the graduating class, shared his reflection on the transformative power of education.
Currently serving a 20-year sentence since 2018, Milluzieh emphasized that their degrees were not just about academic achievement but about personal growth and reform.
“We entered these walls not as students but as individuals to be reformed,” he said. “Today, we are not just degree graduates but renewed and ambitious individuals.”
Two other inmates were also awarded scholarships for their exceptional academic performance.
The ceremony included the presentation of awards to various individuals and organizations that supported the program. Plaques of honour and citations were given in recognition of their contributions to the success of PITEP.
Government and prison officials emphasize the importance of rehabilitation
Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi, the Deputy Minister for the Interior, praised the graduates for their strength and commitment to change.
He encouraged them to see their graduation as the beginning of a new journey, urging them to become role models for others. He also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to supporting inmate rehabilitation.
Patience Baffoe-Bonnie, Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, highlighted the importance of a mindset change and stressed that education should lead to real-life transformation.
She called for increased funding and resources to expand educational opportunities for inmates across the country.
Prof. John Nyarko Boampong, Vice-Chancellor of UCC, acknowledged the challenges of funding the initiative but reaffirmed the university’s commitment to sustaining the program.
He disclosed that UCC had spent over GH¢2.5 million on the project, covering essential costs like tutorials, printing, and examinations. He called for greater support from stakeholders to expand the program to more prisons nationwide.
