Ayutthaya central prison will become the country’s first correctional facility to provide inmates with a distance-learning study programme.
Department of Corrections director-general Witthaya Suriyawong said yesterday the prison would become a model for specialised education services as part of an effort to revamp prisoner training programmes nationwide.
About 1,000 inmates, all with less than 10 years left to serve on their sentences, will be enrolled in the programme, which will cover Matthayom 1-3, or Grade 7-9.
The prison’s other 500 inmates would be relocated, Mr Witthaya said.
He said those who enrol in the programme would have enough time to complete their courses before being released.
The study programme is being arranged by the prison in conjunction with the Office of Informal Education, as well as Klai Kangwon School which specialises in providing distance learning at the Matthayom level.
The Department of Corrections is also looking to convert other prisons into learning centres, promoting more specialised training in fields from sport to agriculture in an effort to boost the career prospects of convicts after their release. Pathum Thani’s central correctional institution for young offenders, for instance, will offer specialised sports training, while Nakhon Ratchasima’s Khao Phrik central prison will become an agricultural training centre, Mr Witthaya said.
The central prison of Maha Sarakham was initially considered for the high school education project, but was rejected as there were too many inmates.
There are four prisons in Ayutthaya — the provincial prison, central prison, a correctional institution for male drug addicts and another for young offenders. They house a total of 9,000 prisoners.