…Minister Ally says institution not a prison

THE NEW Opportunity Corps (NOC) located at Onderneeming, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) is on the verge of a complete transformation, Minister of Social Protection Amna Ally has disclosed.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle on Friday, two days after visiting the institution which was previously under the Ministry of Education’s Department of Youth, Sport and Culture, Minister Ally said there is a great need for the juveniles housed in the facility to feel comfortable.

She believes that it is as a result of their discomfort that many have escaped from the rehabilitative institution. The Minister noted that the transformation process has begun and takes the form of the re-examination of programmes offered to the juveniles, the general operation of the NOC, the staff, and the physical infrastructure or the entity.

“We have to relook at some of the programmes and generally its operations. Yes, it is a juvenile centre, yes, we have to deal with young people, both boys and girls and the main objective is to rehabilitate them, to reintegrate them with society and for them to have a good life,” she told Guyana Chronicle.

The minister admitted that some of the juveniles in the facility were placed there for “petty offences” which are catered for by the law.
“Our security system has to be looked at. I had a meeting with the staff because you’d recognise in recent times we have had a lot of breakouts, and I needed to know what exactly they believe is the problem at NOC which might have led to the breakouts. Whether the conditions are poor, whether they are not comfortable, whatever the situation,” she stated.

The minister made it clear that the NOC was not a prison and should not operate as if it is one, and noted that with adequate staff and a different approach, changes will make a difference.
Minister Ally gleaned a number of things during her visit to the institution on Wednesday, such as the need to revisit the security system, re-examination of the programmes the juveniles participate in, improving literacy and numeracy, changing the mindset of the staff, and increasing the staff complement.

With respect to improving literacy and numeracy, the minister said efforts were in train to have full- time teachers attached to the facility to improve the skills of the juveniles. It was observed that there was a great need for such programmes.
“We have begun the process of recruiting those people to teach them full-time. The programmes at NOC… we have to put some more energy into them,” she stressed, while noting that even in the vocational areas, there is need for diversification of the programmes.

“There are students there doing things in agriculture, fabrication, joinery, catering and so on. I believe we have to strengthen that too, so that they can do better,” Ally noted. That aside, infrastructural works are currently in train at the institution, and the ministry has collaborated with the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) to spruce up the nearby environs which were used as hiding ground for the juveniles when they escape from the NOC.

The Social Protection Minister is also of the view that there needs to be an improvement in the relationship between the juveniles and the staff of the NOC. She said from all indications, it appears that the juveniles are treated as prisoners and by virtue of that they resist the efforts made by the staff to rehabilitate them.

“I am going to revamp that because we want them (juveniles) to be reintegrated into society and we want them to be good citizens as a result of the kind of training that they have there… we have to change the mindset of those in control of the NOC,” she noted, while adding that if programmes offered were not relevant or are not of interest to the juveniles, then challenges will ensue.

“Is it that they are not doing a proper assessment to illustrate what are the interests of the children, then they would want to do it but if it is a case that they are forced to do it they may have a problem. That may lead to resistance, escaping and so on,” she posited.
The minister’s position is in keeping with that of President David Granger’s. The President has said that education and skills training were important aspects of the juveniles’ rehabilitation, and had committed to working with the ministry to explore improvements in the delivery of education and training, extra-curricular activities and psychosocial support.

Meanwhile, the minister said the institution has to be properly staffed and pointed to the need for a Programme Manager, someone to be in charge of education, reintegration, intake, vocational placement, social workers, a medical team, and dorm supervisors.
“There is where we hope to strengthen our staff there, look at our programmes, improve on our security, so it is an overall thing and the NOC would become relevant. It is not a prison,” she emphasised.

A 2016 report of an assessment conducted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) had flagged the professionalisation of the NOC which is a key area for development. The report which was intended to identify key areas for the reform of the institution, so that it could fulfil its mandate to reintegrate the young people housed there, also pointed to the need for capacity-building.

On Thursday, President Granger pardoned five female juveniles of the NOC, aged 13 to 16 years, a move Minister Ally said she is extremely pleased about. She told the Guyana Chronicle that with the presidential pardon, other juveniles remaining at the institution can now have the hope of being reunited with their families. Some 70 juveniles are currently housed at the facility.

The NOC is a detention facility for delinquents. It is governed by the Training Schools Act, which provides for the establishment of schools for the education, rehabilitation and vocational training for young offenders under the age of 18 years. Its mission is to provide youths with technical, vocational, entrepreneurial and life skills training for personal and national development in a disciplined environment.