Inclusion of Disadvantaged People in National Open University of Nigeria: Correctional Services Inmates’ Perspective
Keywords:
Inclusion, correctional service inmates, NOUN, university educationAbstract
National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has taken university education to the door-step of Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS). The hitherto marginalised prison inmates have been provided with opportunity to have access to university education within the confine of correctional facilities in the country. The study explores inclusion and impact of Nigerian correctional inmates to university education in Nigeria. The study is located within the pedestal of qualitative method. In line with qualitative approach adopted, interpretive paradigm was employed to make sense of the inmates’ narrative. The researcher purposively selected twenty-one inmates for the study. Due to the sensitive nature of the study, all ethical issues were adhered to. Semi-structured interview was developed and administered on the participants. The information gathered were transcribed, coded, categorised and emerging themes analysed using narrative analysis. Findings indicated that inmates perceived university education as human development, and crime prevention and control strategies. Furthermore, the inmates stated that the acquisition of university degree has impacted their self-actualisation and offered them various opportunities for employment after jail term. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that Federal Government should focus on supporting rehabilitation through provision of secondary and university education in order to reduce recidivism.
Résumé : La National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) a étendu l'éducation universitaire aux portes du Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS) <<Les Services Correctionnels du Nigeria>>. Les détenus, autrefois marginalisés, ont désormais la possibilité d'accéder à l'enseignement universitaire dans les établissements correctionnels du pays. L'étude explore l'inclusion et l'impact des détenus nigérians sur l'enseignement universitaire au Nigeria. L'étude s'inscrit dans le cadre de la méthode qualitative. Conformément à l'approche qualitative adoptée, un paradigme interprétatif a été utilisé pour donner du sens au récit des détenus. Le chercheur a sélectionné délibérément vingt et un détenus pour l'étude. En raison de la nature sensible de l'étude, toutes les questions éthiques ont été respectées. Un entretien semi-structuré a été élaboré et administré aux participants. Les informations recueillies ont été transcrites, codées, catégorisées et les thèmes émergents ont été analysés à l'aide de l'analyse narrative. Les résultats indiquent que les détenus considèrent l'éducation universitaire comme un développement humain, ainsi que des stratégies de prévention et de contrôle du crime. De plus, les détenus ont déclaré que l'obtention d'un diplôme universitaire a eu un impact sur leur auto-réalisation et leur a offert diverses opportunités d'emploi après leur peine. Sur la base des résultats, il a été recommandé, entre autres, que le Gouvernement Fédéral se concentre sur le soutien à la réhabilitation en fournissant une éducation secondaire et universitaire afin de réduire la récidive.
Mots-clés : Inclusion, Détenus du Service Correctionnel, NOUN, Enseignement Universitaire
References
Adama, S. & Agbokutaye, M. (2021). The message in NOUN’s free education for Inmates. NOUNNEWS, Abuja: NOUN Publishers.
Adesina, M.O. (2023). Number of inmate students per study centre, National Coordinator, Special Study Centre, NOUN.
Adeyeye, B. A. (2019). Challenges and prospects of e-learning for prison education in Nigeria. European Scientific Journal, 15(25), 327-335.
Alamri, W. A. (2019). Effectiveness of qualitative research methods: Interviews and diaries. International Journal of English and Cultural Studies, 2(1), 65-70.
Akpan, L. O. (2015). An investigation into the history of nomadic education policies in Nigeria, 1986-2009. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Anyanwu, J. I., Onyechi, K. C., Adikwu, V., Ezegbe, B. N., & Otu, M. S. (2018). Influence of vocational education on Prison Inmates’ interest in vocational activities in Enugu State, Nigeria. International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, 13(21), 15310-15316.
Ariyo, I. (2021). NOUN matriculates 72 Kuje inmates. PM News. Lagos.
Ayu, I. (2004). Human rights. Guardian Newspaper: Lagos.
Barkhuizen, G., & Consoli, S. (2021). Pushing the edge in narrative inquiry. System, 102, 102656. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2021.102656
Bazen, A., Barg, F. K., & Takeshita, J., (2021). Research techniques made simple: An Introduction to qualitative research. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 141(2), 241-247.
Becker-Pestka, D. (2017). Prison education in Poland: Specifics and challenges. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 75(2), 123-135.
Behan, C. (2014). Learning to escape: Prison education, rehabilitation and the potential for transformation. Journal of Prison education and reentry, 1(1), 20-31.
Boddy, C. R. (2016). Sample size for qualitative research. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 19(4), 426-432.
Borch, C. (2014). Foucault, crime and power: Problematisations of crime in the twentieth century. London: Routledge.
Bozick, R., Steele, J., Davis, L. & Turner, S., (2018). Does providing inmates with education improve post-release outcomes? A meta-analysis of correctional education programs in the United States. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 14(3), 389–428.
Bun, M. J., Kelaher, R., Sarafidis, V., & Weatherburn, D. (2020). Crime, deterrence and punishment revisited. Empirical economics, 59, 2303-2333.
Cassidy, M., & Rydberg, J. (2020). Does sentence type and length matter? Interactions of age, race, ethnicity, and gender on jail and prison sentences. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 47(1), 61-79.
Champion, D. J., & Mays, G. L. (1991). Transferring juveniles to criminal courts: Trends and implications for criminal justice. Westport CT: Praeger Publishers.
Chappell, C. A. (2002). Post-secondary correctional education and recidivism: A meta-analysis of research conducted 1990-1999. The Journal of Correctional Education, 53(2), 139-144.
Clarke, J. (2021). Yakubu Gowon: Faith in United Nigeria. London: Routledge.
Cragg, W. (1992). The practice of punishment: Towards a theory of restorative justice. New York: Routledge.
Dostoyevsky, F. (2017). Crime and punishment. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Downes, P. (2014). Prison education: Indicators at micro-meso levels. In access to education in Europe (pp. 205-226). dordrecht: springer.
Ellingston, J. R. (1948). Protecting Our Children from Criminal Careers. New York: Prentice-Hall
Foucault, M., (1977). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. London: Allen Lane, Penguin.
Gaes, G. G., Bales, W. D., & Scaggs, S. J. (2016). The effect of imprisonment on recommitment: An analysis using exact, coarsened exact, and radius matching with the propensity score. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 12, 143-158.
Harer, M. (1994). Reddivism amongfederal prison releasees in 1987: A preliminary report. Washington DC: Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Hawley, J., Murphy, I., & Souto-Otero, M., (2013). Prison education and training in Europe, current state-of play and challenges, Antonio Casella. GHK Consulting
Ignatieff, M., (1978). A Just Measure of Pain: The penitentiary in the industrial revolution, 1750- 1850. New York: Pantheon Books.
Ilechukwu, L. C., & Ugwuozor, F. O. (2017). Utilisation of religious and philosophy education in uplifting the image of prison inmates and curtailing ex-prisoners’ recidivism in Enugu prison Yard in Nigeria. SAGE Open, 7(3), 2158244017730109.
Ismaila, S. (2020). Availability of Reformative Education Programmes for Prisoners in North West Nigeria. UMT Education Review, 3(1), 01–24.
Itzik, L. (2023). Can Rehabilitation Work in Military Prison? A Theoretical Framework Based on the Israeli Case. The Prison Journal, 103 (2), 177–193.
Jenkins, H., Pendry, J. A. & Steurer, S. (1993). A post release follow-up of correctional education program completers released in 7990-1991. Baltimore: Maryland State Department of Education.
Jovanić, G. (2011). The role of education in the treatment of offenders. Support for learning, 26(2), 79-82.
Kivunja, C. (2017). Understanding and applying research paradigms in educational context. International Journal of Higher Education, 6(5), 26-46.
Ludlow, A., Armstrong, R., & Bartels, L. (2019). Learning together: localism, collaboration and reflexivity in the development of prison and university learning communities. Journal of Prison Education and Reentry, 6(1), 25-45.
Luxon, N. (2019). Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish. In The Oxford Handbook of Classics in Contemporary Political Theory. London: Sage.
Mahlangu, G., & Zivanai, E. (2023). Offender eLearning: A systematic literature review on re-entry, recidivism, and life after prison. Cogent Social Sciences, 9(2), 2246706.
Martin, G. (2019). Turn the detention centre inside out: Challenging state secrecy in Australia’s offshore processing of Asylum Seekers. In crime-migration in Australia (pp. 327-352). Springer, Singapore.
Martinson, R., (1974). What works? Questions and answers about prison reform. Public Interest 10, 22-54.
Mocănașu, D. R. (2020). Determining the sample size in qualitative research. In international multidisciplinary scientific conference on the dialogue between sciences & arts, religion & education (pp.181-187). Ideas Forum International Academic and Scientific Association.
Morris, N. & Rothman, D.J. (Eds.,) (1998). The Oxford history of the prison: The practice of punishment in Western society. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ndunagu, J. N., & Tanglang, N. (2019). Recidivism panacea in Nigerian prisons through digital literacy: National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) initiatives. Journal of Emerging Trends in Engineering and Applied Sciences, 10(5), 234-238.
Obioha, E. E. (2011). Challenges and reforms in the Nigerian prisons system. Journal of social sciences, 27(2), 95-109.
O’Donnell, A., (2016). Securitisation, counterterrorism and the silencing of dissent: The educational implications of prevent. British Journal of Educational Studies, 64(1), 53–76.
Odewale, A. D. (2019). Local government and primary education in Nigeria: An overview. An International Journal of Arts and Humanities, 8(4), 138-146.
Ogidan, R. J. (2010). Challenges and prospects of providing access to learning. The Lagos Counsellor. An official publication of the Counselling Association of Nigeria (Lagos State Chapter), Vol. 3, No1. University of Lagos.
Oluwasanmi, L. A., Babatola, M. A., & Mayowa, I. O. (2018). A Comparative Study of the Self-Concept of Inmates and the Normals (Non-Inmates) In Nigeria. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 23(5), 65-68.
Omazu, E. (2018). Breaking the bar: Equity for inmates and freedom of education through the National Open University of Nigeria. West African Journal of Open and Flexible Learning.7 (1), 143-165.
Otodo, I. (2017). The role of formal education in the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners in Nigeria: A case study of Jos prison, Nigeria. International Journal of Research, 1 (2), 12-24.
Otu, M. S. (2015). Analysis of the causes and effects of recidivism in the Nigerian prison system. International Journal of Development and Management Review, 10(1), 136-145.
Parker, E. A. (1990) The social-psychological impact of a college education on the prison inmate. Journal of Correctional Education, 41 (3), 140–146.
Pike, A., & Farley, H. (2018). Education and vocational training: Why the differences are important advancing corrections. Journal of the International Corrections and Prisons Association, Edition 6, 81–93.
Quan-Baffour, K. P., & Zawada, B. E. (2012). Education programmes for prison inmates: Reward for offences or hope for a better life? Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology, 3(2), 73-81.
Rhode, L. (2004). What’s wrong with prisoners? London: Heart and Minds Network.
Rutakumwa, R., Mugisha, J. O., Bernays, S., Kabunga, E., Tumwekwase, G., Mbonye, M., & Seeley, J. (2020). Conducting in-depth interviews with and without voice recorders: A comparative analysis. Qualitative Research, 20(5), 565-581.
Saleh, A.G. (2019). 3,000 Prisoners enroll in NOUN, 10th October, 2019 Nigerian Tribune. Lagos: Tribune Press.
Seeds, C. (2022). Death by prison: the emergence of life without parole and perpetual confinement. Univ of California Press.
Sheridan, A. (1977). Discipline and punish. New York: Pantheon
Sherman, L. W. (2002). Evidence-based crime prevention. United States of America: Routledge.
Stuckey, H. L. (2014). The first step in Data Analysis: Transcribing and managing qualitative research data. Methodological Issues in Social Health and Diabetes Research, 2(1), 4-11.
Teke, A. M., Katami, N. A., & Khalid, M. (2020). Almajiri Education and the mainstream Nigeria education system in north west geo-political zone: The Journey So Far. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications (IJSRP), 10(8), 315-329.
Umanailo, M. C., Hamid, I., Hamiru, H., Assagaf, S. S. F., Bula, M., Nawawi, M., & Bon, A. T. (2019). Utilisation of qualitative methods in research universities. Education Science, 20,12-26.
UNESCO (2021). Education in Prison: Literature Review. Hamburg: UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning.
Vandala, N.G. (2019). The transformative effect of correctional education: A global perspective. Cogent Social Sciences, 5 (1), 1-15.
Vasileiou K, Barnett J, Thorpe S., & Young T. (2018). Characterising and justifying sample size sufficiency in interview-based studies: Systematic analysis of qualitative health research over a 15-year period. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 18(1), 1-18.
Zimbardo, P. G., Maslach, C., & Haney, C. (1999). Reflections on the Stanford prison experiment: Genesis, transformations, consequences. In Obedience to authority (pp. 207-252). England: Psychology Press.
Zoukis, C. (2014). College for convicts: The case for higher education in American prisons London: McFarland.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 West African Journal of Open and Flexible Learning
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
