Education of Incarcerated Young People in Malawi: Strategic Plan versus Reality

Education must be accessible to all citizens, including those incarcerated in penitentiaries, to contribute to the socio-economic development of the countries. In Malawi, to enhance incarcerated people's access to quality education in correctional facilities, the Malawi Prisons Service (MPS) included education as a strategic objective in its five-year strategic plan covering the period between 2016 and 2021. This article analysed and compared this strategic education objective against reality to ascertain its implementation and relevance during the implementation period. Guided by Bunning's model of strategic planning, the study employed a qualitative content analysis research method using the 'hybrid approach'. The study mainly used data from the semi-structured interviews involving purposively selected 25 educators and officials from five young offenders' rehabilitation centres in Malawi. Findings revealed a mismatch between the contents of the strategic education objective and the actual reality. The study identified characteristics of Bunning's ritual approach since it was revealed that the strategic plan was developed to please the government and development partners. From the education objective viewpoint, the strategic plan was hardly used during the five years since the educational activities remained the same (even worse) after the implementation period. The young offenders' facilities were still stuck in the punitive philosophy, as evidenced by limited resources in the education section and the management's priority on coerced farming instead of education. It was recommended that the correctional administrations needed to prioritise the provision of quality education for school-aged offenders in correctional policies.