As a society, we want offenders to be rehabilitated. We do not want people released from prison only to commit further crimes; we want them to have the skills to earn a living, contribute productively and reintegrate into their communities. At the same time, South Africa cannot house prisoners indefinitely.
Many citizens, especially families who have been victims of violent crime, carry deep anger and bitterness towards criminals. Yet if society is to progress, it remains vital that offenders are given a genuine chance to change, to learn and to rebuild their lives within the law. Seen through this lens, the latest matric results from Correctional Services’ schools deserve recognition.
Those studying in prison have once more shown that education can serve as a practical pathway to rehabilitation. In the 2025 National Senior Certificate examinations, inmates achieved an overall pass rate of 94,4%, an improvement on last year’s strong performance of 93,2%. Fifteen Correctional schools recorded 100% pass rates, up from 13 the previous year, and 132 distinctions were awarded across the cohort.
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This year-on-year progress suggests that access to structured learning inside prisons is not only being maintained but is steadily deepening in quality and impact. KwaZulu-Natal’s Correctional schools performed particularly well, with 45 of 50 candidates obtaining bachelor passes. Usethubeni Correctional Centre School in Durban-Westville maintained a perfect pass rate for the 10th consecutive year, a striking record of consistency in difficult circumstances.
Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald rightly explains that “learning does not stop at prison walls”, and that incarcerated learners remain part of the national education system whose success matters. He has also highlighted that education helps restore “dignity, self-discipline and hope” among inmates; qualities essential for rehabilitation. These remarks matter precisely because Groenewald is regarded as a no-nonsense politician on crime, discipline and prison management.
His insistence that education rebuilds dignity and self-respect signals that rehabilitation is not about leniency, but about producing safer outcomes for society. If inmates leave prison more disciplined, more skilled and more hopeful about lawful futures, communities are less likely to bear the burden of repeat offending.
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