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It is with feelings of satisfaction that I attend today's closing ceremony of the schools of the Prisons Department, to warmly congratulate the management, the teachers and the students, who are completing the cycle of this school year.
I would like to congratulate you for your efforts. Your participation in the Prison Department's School Programs realizes one of the main objectives of the government's policy regarding the functioning and purposes of our prison system, of which education is an integral part.
This is an organized system of education, based on modern scientific standards and adapted to the specific needs and heterogeneity of the prison population.
It aims at the acquisition of basic knowledge, the enhancement of the educational level of prisoners and the improvement of their professional and social skills, in order to maintain and strengthen their connection with both the social and professional fabric.
In this way, smooth reintegration after release is facilitated and the risk of recidivism and return to prison is reduced.
Our aim is to actively support the work of the Prisons, the rehabilitation and social reintegration of prisoners. To this end, we are constantly upgrading the Prison schools' programmes, so that they are fully in line with both the country's educational system and the human resources needs of the economy.
To this end, a pioneering four-million-euro scheme for the provision of incentives for the labour rehabilitation of released prisoners is in full swing, in cooperation with the Labour Department and the Federation of Employers' Organisations. Suffice it to mention that the interest of enterprises in employing released prisoners of all specialties has exceeded all expectations, since to date 64 placements of released prisoners have been made in as many enterprises on a nationwide basis. The ultimate goal is to cover the full amount of the Plan and we are working methodically to achieve this goal.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the OEB, the Labour Department of the Ministry of Labour as well as the Prisoners' Association for their immediate response in support of the Plan.
The human-centred treatment of prisoners in conditions of security and respect for rights is the main pillar of our prison policy.
The education, vocational training and continuous education of prisoners is our priority. In this context, many noteworthy actions have been undertaken in the areas of enhancing prisoners' knowledge, competences and skills in a complex multicultural prison environment. In this way, their social reintegration is strengthened, which is perfectly in line with our strategic objectives in terms of the functioning and aims of our prison system.
The massive participation of prisoners in educational programmes and the radical change in the image and practices of prisons in recent years is neither a coincidence nor accidental.
A prerequisite for our prison system to be able to function as a place of reformation of prisoners and preparation for their smooth reintegration into society is a planned and methodical change in the orientation of the institution of imprisonment into a means of correction, reformation and re-socialization of prisoners.
By way of indication, I would like to mention that 623 prisoners are currently participating in the eight schools that have been set up in prisons in recent years, while there are also prisoners who are attending universities at a distance.
Our efforts to educate prison guards through the operation of the Correctional Academy are also ongoing.
I would like to express my sincere thanks for your presence here and your contribution to the efforts to educate student prisoners.
With the guidance and cooperation of all of you, you are helping to make the aspirations of both the inmate students for education and the Government to provide education, specialization and the acquisition of vocational skills a reality.
In closing, I would like to congratulate each of you personally for volunteering to join the Prison Department's education program and commend the effort you have made to educate yourselves. I wish you well on your journey towards your education and your professional and social rehabilitation.
In particular, I would like to congratulate the management of the Prisons Department, as well as all the staff of the Prisons Department, for their enormous contribution to this important work.
Your contribution is instrumental in radically reforming the climate and practices of serving sentences.
Dear Mr. Kapnulas, I invite you to continue to contribute on a daily basis to shaping a prison environment of security and constant concern for human rights. In multiple ways, give the message that imprisonment can also be an opportunity to learn, improve and cultivate responsibility, with the aim of the most productive possible social reintegration.
For our part, as a Government, we assure you that we will continue to support these efforts of yours to continuously upgrade our penitentiary system, so that prisons continue to be a place of safety, security and constant care for human rights.
For our part, as a Government, we assure you that we will continue to support these efforts of yours to continuously upgrade our penitentiary system, so that prisons continue to be a place of safety, security and constant care for human rights. And it is a fact that since my first days in office and recognizing that the most important problem facing prisons today, which is that of overcrowding, we have worked out a specific plan to manage and redesign this particular problem, which will provide a solution to overcrowding and those issues that arise from it. As you will have already been informed, the Council of Ministers at a recent meeting approved this specific management plan, a plan that includes immediate, medium and long-term solutions to the problems, based on the existing logistical infrastructure. In conclusion, we believe that the decision of the Council of Ministers will contribute in the best possible way to improving the correctional process and solving the operational problems of prisons.
AF/SX
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