Dispositif éducatif en milieu carcéral et réinsertion scolaire des ex-détenus mineurs : cas de la Prison Centrale de Yaoundé

Abstract

This work focuses on education facilities in prisons and school reintegration of juvenile ex-inmates in the Yaoundé main prison. It emerges from the observation that the Yaoundé main prison is overcrowded, with a large number of ex-convicts. In addition to depriving inmates of their liberty, the prison also has a socio-educational role to play in ensuring their social reintegration once their sentence has been served. The role of prison education is first to prepare individuals for their social well-being. Education in prison settings is a commitment to resocialization. It embodies the need to maintain contact with the outside world through various socio-educational actors. However, educational practices in prisons are essentially coercive and out of step with the real needs of inmates. The question then arose as to how prison arrangements influence the social reintegration of juvenile inmates. It emerged that the development of educational facilities in prisons contributes to the social reintegration of juvenile inmates. The study was conducted through a qualitative approach, with an interview guide given to prison administration staff stratified into social workers, prison teachers, educational social center coordinators and prison guards as well as another interview guide given to juvenile ex-inmates. Interviewees were selected using a non-probability purposive sampling. The data collected were analysed using the thematic content analysis method. The results obtained indicate that the educational system in prisons is inadequate and inappropriate due to a lack of infrastructure, trained teachers and appropriate didactic materials, which constitute a major hindrance to prisoners' prospects of social reintegration. In any case, it is essential to reshape the prison system in order to remedy the current dysfunctions, for a better social reintegration of juvenile inmates who are facing a high recidivism rate.