inlsa
Durban 050112Inmates at westville prison that wrote their matricPic Terry Haywood
Wendy Jasson da Costa
TWO young men sent to jail in the prime of their lives for committing serious crimes have emerged as the top matriculants at Durban’s Westville Prison.
Nqubeko Sunset Malembe, the top achiever, and Siyabonga Collen Nyawose, who had the third-highest marks, completed their schooling through the Usethubeni Youth School at the prison.
The pupil with the second-highest marks, Njabulo Mkhathini, is out on parole.
Thirty-one pupils registered to write the matric exams last year, with 25 passing, five failing, and one pupil’s results pending. This translates into an 83 percent pass rate, with the prisoners achieving 14 As, 34 Bs and 30 Cs.
Malembe, the school’s head boy last year, scored As for Zulu and life orientation and Bs for engineering graphics and design, and geography. He achieved Cs for English and maths and a D for accounting.
He is from Amaoti, in Inanda, and is serving a four-year sentence for indecent assault.
He said although he was “very, very happy to be a top student”, he had expected better marks because he had worked hard.
Apart from classes, they also had study sessions in their rooms at night – the only time they “relaxed their minds” was when they took breaks to play soccer.
“Outside of prison I was not a top achiever because of peer pressure, drugs and girls. Outside, I always lived to have fun,” said Malembe.
He wants to study civil engineering.
He said nothing would make him happier than for his teachers at his former school, Amandlethu High, in Amaoti – who had encouraged him to do better – to know that he had passed.
Malembe said he had had “a wake-up call” last year when his father died, and wants to be able to help his elderly, unemployed mother to support her seven children when he is released in November.
Nyawose, 22, who is serving a four-year sentence for murder, got an A for life orientation and Bs for Zulu and business studies.
He aims to enrol for a BCom in accounting when he is released later this year.
“If you make a mistake and get a chance to correct it, you must grab it with both hands,” said Nyawose.
No one was more proud of their achievements than their principal, Dominic Zulu, and the deputy principal, Nelly Mkhize.
Mkhize said they were considered substitute parents and the young men who passed through their hands kept in touch when they finished their sentences.
“They phone me and say, ‘Mum, I have a job now. Can I give you some money?’” she said, laughing.
The acting regional commissioner of Correctional Services, Andile Mdletye, said the youngsters deserved to be given a second chance in life because “we all err”.
Two of the pupils had been accepted to study at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Mkhize said the school did not have maths and accounting teachers, which was reflected in the poor results in these subjects.
She urged teachers to apply to Correctional Services for jobs.
