The Malawi prisons Service (MPS) has attributed to lack of conducive learning environment for prisoners as one of the contributing factors to poor quality of education in the country’s correctional facilities.

National spokesperson for the Malawi Prisons Chimwemwe Mike Shaba confirmed.

According to Shaba, the country’s reformatory schools have been hit with inadequate teachers and learning materials making it hard for prisoners to have access to quality education.

He added that out of the 30 Prisons the country has, 13 are unable to offer formal education to inmates.

Education expert from Mzuzu University Dr. Foster Lungu has asked government to increase funding to the department.

According to Lungu this will help to ensure that prisoners in the country are not denied the right to education.

In the just released Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE), Malawi prisons Service registered a 68 percent pass rate with Zomba Maximum prison registering a 100 percent pass rate.

An inmate from Mzuzu Prison scooped highest with 16 points.

Formal education in prisons in the country was piloted at Chichiri prison in 2002, and later at Zomba prison.