Maseru, May 06 — Beyond rehabilitation, key priorities offered to young offenders at the Juvenile Training Centre (JTC) under Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) include formal education.
Formal education is enshrined in different international documents including Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) as well as including local guiding tools and principles and the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) policy.
Speaking with the Agency, Principal Rehabilitation Officer (PRO), Mr. Lefelisa Setloboko said education is the right of all children in spite of status or different forms of crime they have committed.
Therefore, he said the centre offers young offenders rehabilitation in various angles including provision for formal education, to pave way for their future life even after they have been rehabilitated.
He appealed to the society to find it in their heart to forgive and let justice prevail, indicating that LCS is committed through this centre to shape children and ensure that they become responsible citizens while also restoring peace with those they have offended.
Meanwhile, the 2005 study by one Mokoteli Moliehi Florence titled ‘Problems facing children in Lesotho prisons: with special reference to the juvenile training centre’, shows that children are the future of the nation as a result, the centre grooms them in such a way that they will become responsible and productive citizens in future.
Furthermore, the study shows that there are factors that drive children into crime or deviant behaviour, the following have been highlighted as contributing factors, poverty in the family, poor parental control and guidance, conditions of the neighbourhood, peer group pressure and drug abuse as well as child abuse and neglect to mention a few.
Talking about poverty specifically, the study indicated it as a major cause of juvenile delinquency, with children from disadvantaged families often engaging in criminal acts like theft in order to earn a living amongst others.
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