Six prisoners pursue Open University MBA

Serving long-term prison sentences has not deterred six inmates from pursuing their Masters degrees at a local university.

Kajang Prison, Treatment and Rehabilitation Section head, Darussalam Budin said the prison's inmates will start their distance learning Masters in Business Administration degree in March under the 2013/2014 intake with Open University Malaysia (OUM).

"This is the first group to do Masters and we offer this opportunity to all prisoners who are interested and eligible," he said.

At present, 14 inmates in Kajang Prison are already enrolled in business studies degrees and four in Information Technology Diplomas at OUM since 2008, he said.

Darussalam said although university education was not part of the rehabilitation programme, the prison authority was confident it would help prisoners build self-esteem and character.

He said JPM will widen the offer to all prisoners nationwide, adding that in cooperation with the Education Ministry, inmates could also sit for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination.

"Registration for SPM is open until March and so far the response has been encouraging. It will help the inmates have a brighter and more independent future after they're released," he said.