Westville prisoners celebrate as they beat the odds and matriculate
By Zainul Dawood
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Durban - Five inmates who attended the Usethubeni Youth School at the Department of Correctional Services (DCC) in Westville beat the hardships of imprisonment to pass matric.
They were awarded their certificates and a prize of a laptop at the Grade 12 results awards ceremony held virtually by the Department of Education on Tuesday. They were the top 5 pupils at correctional services in the Pinetown District. Most of them were juveniles when they committed crimes.
Nhlakanipho Mbatha, 26, from Claremont, chose economics, accounting, isiZulu, English, maths and tourism. He was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for hijacking and is expected to be paroled in 2025. He said there were 35 prisoners in a cell motivating one another to study. He has applied to study teaching through the University of South Africa (Unisa).