Making the most of their time

At Shanganagh Castle Juvenile Detention Centre in Shankill, Co Dublin, the Junior Cert is catching on. Some 13 inmates are sitting the exam there this year. Word is getting around that if you pass your Junior Cert, you've a better chance of getting an apprenticeship. "I decided to do the Junior Cert because a few of my mates had done it and encouraged me to have a go," comments 17-year-old Richie, who was sentenced to 22 months for burglary.

On a warm, sunny day in May, nine of us - the two Jameses, Richie, Ronnie, John and Stephen and their teachers Jenny Derbyshire and Kathy Boyle - are sitting in one of the Castle's classrooms. The inmates, who are aged between 17 and 21, are casually and comfortably dressed in their own clothes. They come from all parts of the State.

They're doing time for burglary, assault and car theft. Most of them left school early and don't have fond memories of their teachers. One of the Jameses was expelled at 14 and had been suspended from primary school before that. John stayed on till Junior Cert, which he failed, he says. They're all taking maths and English. English is their favourite subject. A number say they're going to fail maths. "They won't," says teacher, Kathy Boyle. "They'll all get As andBs."

James's decision to take up Junior Cert is a pragmatic one. "I've no choice about being here, so I may as well make the best of it," he says. Ronnie finds it "all right", but Richie believes they're being taught well. John appreciates the fact that they can all have a laugh. "They don't treat us like kids, they treat us with respect," the youngsters say. "The work is easy enough, and we're only taking two subjects." How much private study do they do? "None," they reply. "We don't get the chance," Ronnie explains. "We can only work in class because we don't have cells. We need a library. If we had a room for people doing the Junior Cert, we'd be all right."

Shanganagh is an open detention centre for males aged between 16 and 21. "There's no lock-up and no security on the gates and walls. The boys sleep in dormitories," explains Ray Mulholland, the centre's supervising teacher. "No one can be sent here directly from the courts. They all come from committal prisons. Once they get to Shanganagh, the remainder of their sentence is halved." Because of overcrowding, there's less handpicking of prisoners now than in the past. Shanganagh can accommodate up to 65 boys, but the number fluctuates "by the hour", he says. "

Decisions to move prisoners from prison to prison or detention centre around the country are made on an almost daily basis depending on how many people are committed to prison by the courts on a particular day. Throughout the prison system, education is offered on a voluntary basis.

At Shanganagh, 95 per cent of inmates are involved at some level in education. On offer are literacy and numeracy classes, health education, woodwork, art, drama, computer studies, physical and recreational education, sports and NCVA and Junior Cert programmes. The centre also runs Pathways, a social skills programme, which involves outside visits, and Moving On, which is offered in conjunction with a Department of Justice psychologist. In the spring, 16 boys successfully completed NCVA programmes.

The transient nature of prison life means that it can be difficult to offer education to prisoners, Mulholland observes. Shanganagh could deliver a better system of education, he says, if the Department of Justice refrained from sending those who are due to make further court appearances - and hence may receive another prison sentence - and those who have only short sentences to serve. Shanganagh inmates who volunteer for educational courses are given an induction or taster programme, after which they select three subjects for more intensive study.

Along with study, inmates are required work in the kitchens, the dining room, around the grounds or on the farm. Everybody has a job to do and the boys are kept busy until 5pm, although evening classes, too, are available and popular. The inmates doing Junior Cert have an increasingly positive view of education - some of them may even return to education when they are released. "If I was able to go back, I'd go," says Richie. "I'll do night classes," promises Ronnie. "If you want to become something you have to have an education." One of the Jameses would like to become a mechanic. John would like to train as an accountant.

By and large, they like Shanganagh. It's clean - much more so than some of the prisons - and the food is good, with plenty of meat and vegetables. They enjoy regular family visits and you're allowed physical contact. That's important, especially if you have children, say James, Stephen and Richie, who are all fathers.