Learners should learn from offenders in prison- Msiza

Learners should learn from offenders in prison- Msiza  

The prison visits are a deterrent to would be criminals. Government is trying by all means to motivate learners to take their education seriously and not do crime; this is according to William Msiza, Crime Prevention Manager Nkangala Region, Mpumalanga Community Safety, Security and Liaison.

The primary objective is to get learners way from criminal activities which could lead them to prison. Msiza was speaking during a prison visit by Leaners at Kgoshi Mampuru Correctional Services in Pretoria on Friday 04 September 2015. The sixty learners were from Vukani Secondary School in Thembisile Hani Local Municipality.

Msiza urged the   learners never to commit any act of crime because this could damage their records should they be admitted in prison. He said that prison is worse than hell. “Learners should focus on their studies and work very hard to achieve their goals and dreams,” Msiza added. He further motivated learners and stated that by focusing on their academic subjects, this will make them become future leaders.

Msiza also explained that the programme has a huge impact in crime prevention in the province as youth are sometimes used to commit crime.

The prison visit is an annual programme of the department together with the Department of Education and Correctional Services to educate young people about the dangers of crime. During these visits learners become to some of the hardships inmates go through on daily basis.

During the visit the learners were afforded an opportunity to interact with inmates to be motivated to stay away from crime. Some of the inmates shared their horrendous experiences with learners who were almost in tears as the inmates shared circumstances surrounding their incarceration with them.

The learners were encouraged to choose friends who would not lead them, astray such they do not end up doing crime. It is believed that the experiences that they were exposed will likely impact their whole lives such they will not do crime but would instead share the experiences with other learners form their school or communities.