Khami Prison achieves impressive O-level passes

INMATES at Khami Maximum Prison had impressive Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) Ordinary Level passes in the 2024 November exams.

The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services now prioritises rehabilitation of inmates as opposed to punishment hence it is providing a conducive learning environment for inmates.

The inmates are being encouraged to use the time behind bars to prepare for life after prison and as such some are improving themselves academically while others are undergoing skills training.

Last year, eight inmates from Khami Maximum Prison Adults School sat for O-level examination and recorded a 91 percent pass rate.

Their pass rate is above the national average of 33 percent. Moses Moyo who is serving a 33-year sentence for unlawful entry and theft, is the head of the school. He said ZPCS has created an environment that enables their students to excel.

“We had eight inmates who registered for five or more subjects and out of those, five managed to pass all the subjects with As and Bs while two of the inmates managed to pass four subjects meaning they only failed one subject,” he said.

Moyo said the school’s overall pass rate in last year’s November exams was 91,3 percent.

He said the school is run by 35 teachers and some of them started as students before passing their examinations.

Moyo said what is encouraging is that despite being inmates, students are not disrupted during class.

“The reason why we managed to achieve such a brilliant pass rate is because of the environment that has been created in this place,” he said.

He said besides O-level and Advanced Level, students at the school undergo skills training in motor mechanics and auto electrics.

Moyo said it is their hope that their students will not revert to crimes when they are released from prison. He said the school also accommodates non-prisoners who live within Khami Maximum Prison Complex.

“I’m the head of the internal school as well as the external school. We have classes from Grade 1 to Grade 7. We have the secondary level from Form One to Form Four, then we have the tertiary departments where inmates undergo skills training,” he said.

Convicted former Finance Deputy Minister, Terrence Mukupe, a Mathematics teacher at the school, produced a 100 percent pass rate.

He said he was inspired to teach after realising the hunger for knowledge among the inmates at Khami Maximum Prison.

“I noticed that people here have hunger for education and knowledge and decided to avail myself so I could change lives. I am teaching mathematics. Out there I’m known as a finance person but my main qualification is Applied Mathematics,” said Mukupe.

He said even prison officers and their children who are learning at Khami High School are also benefiting from the Khami Maximum Prison teachers.

“Some of my students are actually prison officers and their children,” said Mukupe. — @nqotshili