SCHOOL EDUCATION IN PRISONS: A LOOK FROM HUMAN RIGHTS

Abstract

This article is about the school education offered to the prisoner in the prison system with a direct look from human rights. The bibliographic research was used to analyze the subject and the laws that are relevant to the topic. It was observed that the respect for dignity of the human being is one of the main foundations of the Constitution of 1988, however, its fulfillment is almost inexistent in the prison system. The Penal Execution Law (Lei de Execução Penal – LEP – in Portuguese) recommends the educational assistance as a possible mechanism to prevent crime and as orientation to the incarcerated person for his/her return, reintegration and living together in society. However, the educational assistance has not brought the desired results and has contributed little, for the main concern of the prison system has been to maintain the prisoner without the proper means of offering recovery. Opposed to this logic, we seek to establish a reflection concerning human rights, as humanizing mechanisms are increasingly required in the serving of sentences. We conclude from this study that there is a disparity between the proposed standards and the reality experienced in schools in operation within penitentiary facilities due to the negligence of the public authorities regarding the implementation of public policies. In this case, teaching is strained due to lack of human, financial, physical and didactic resources. Another factor that discourages the education is the evidenced internal practice of prison staff of requiring the routine of the school to fit into the routine of the facility, making the school organizational process difficult.

Key words: Education; Prison system; Human rights.