From 440,000 inmates in Brazil, 75% have not completed basic education and 12% of them are illiterate. Only 18% from them have access to some educational activity – and even though including courses such as guitar. Those data, collected from September 2008 to February 2009, are part of the preliminary report on the situation of education in Brazilian prisons, presented on Wednesday (25) to the Committee on Education and Culture by the Brazilian rapporteur of the United Nations (ONU) for the Human Right to Education, Denise Carreira.

The presentation of the rapport was made during the public hearing, called for by Deputy João Matos (PMDB-SC), to debate the subject.

According to the report, in addition to education be viewed as a privilege by the prison system, the educational process is not continuous: if there is any turmoil in the prison, it is interrupted.

The study conditions are precarious: there is lack of classrooms and the room which could be used for them is adapted to be used as additional cells. In addition to that, the teachers face distrust from the penitentiary agents, who interfere in the content of classes. “Body contact, such as handshaking, is forbidden. Some female teachers have already been dismissed because of accusations of romantic relationships with inmates”, said the rapporteur.

Another problem pointed by her is the conflict between work and study schedules. Those who work, according to Denise, will hardly get time to study. And, because the search is larger than the offer, the inmates are selected according to their good behavior.

Another obstacle to education in prisons is the “extreme” control to access to paper. Moreover, school materials are destructed by guards searching for drugs.

Recommendations
The National Rapporteurship for Human Right to Education recommends the approval of Standards for the states’ systems to develop policies for education in prison system; and also that all teachers are hired by means of official exams. The educators’ team is currently formed by temporary teachers and pedagogy interns.

The rapport also recommends the establishment of education units inside prisons, with pedagogic autonomy and evening schedules, to facilitate access to education to those who cannot study because of working hours.

Ten prisons were visited in the states of Pernambuco, São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul and Pará, and more than 200 testimonies were collected from inmates, educators, directors and penitentiary agents, prosecutors, judges, defense attorneys, in addition to activists from Education and Human-Rights Organizations. The work was supported by the representation of Unesco in Brazil.

Report - Oscar Telles
Editing - Patricia Roedel
Translation - Positive Idiomas Ltda