IN JAMAICA: Prison Schools - Gov't Study Says Poor-Performing Institutions Produce Most Inmates

Education Minister Ronald Thwaites

Daraine Luton, Senior Staff Reporter

SOME OF Jamaica's lowest-ranked high schools have been churning out the bulk of misfits, who have ended up in thecountry's prisons, a government study has revealed.

The study, which was presented in the House of Represen-tatives yesterday by Education Minister Ronald Thwaites, shows that five institutions with the most persons in the penal systems are all poorly performing schools, according to ranking by the think tank, Educate Jamaica.

"The research unearthed evidence to suggest that the names of some schools were more likely to be featured than others. There is also overwhelming evidence to infer, with a high degree of confidence, that at least seven out of 10 inmates in our adult prisons have had some association with a non-traditional high school," the study said. more