The University of Cape Coast has graduated 63 inmates of the Nsawam Medium Security Prison in the Eastern Region, who have successfully completed their undergraduate programmes through the College of Distance Education (CoDE).
Three of the graduates obtained First Class in Bachelor of Education (JHS Education), while 10 students had Second Class Upper Division, 19 with Second Class Lower Division and six with Third Class. One had a Pass.
In the Bachelor of Commerce (Management), one had Second Class Upper Division, seven had second class lower division, three with third class and six with passes.
With regard to Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting), two had second class upper, two with second class lower, one with third class, and two had a pass.
The students comprise 58 males and five females, with the Overall Best Graduating Student being Mathew Milluzieh, with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.8.
A statement on the University’s website at the Ninth Session of the 57th congregation said on Friday.
A speech read on behalf of Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong, the Vice-Chancellor, at the graduation ceremony, congratulated the graduates on their sterling academic performances, regardless of the challenges in the prison.
Prof. Boampong indicated that UCC had invested nearly ₵2.5 million waiving tuition fees to ensure that inmates willing to  pursue tertiary education were not denied.
“UCC continues to absorb the costs of hiring tutors, supplying learning modules and managing complex logistics  between Cape Coast and Nsawam. We are proud of what we have achieved but we cannot do it alone,” he said.
The Vice-Chancellor called on the GETFUND, Scholarship Secretariat, non- governmental organisations, corporate bodies and compassionate individuals to partner with the University to sustain the programme.
Prof. Boampong said the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission had problems with the Study Centre at Nsawam and, therefore, called for massive infrastructure development there.
“I propose that the existing facilities be upgraded  to meet the expected standard,” he said.
Mr Ebenezer Okletey Terlabi, the Deputy Minister of the Interior, said the government would continue to support rehabilitation programmes of the Ghana Prisons Service and lauded the University for its forward thinking approach to rehabilitation.
“I urge you to view this moment not as the end of the journey but as the beginning of a new chapter,” he told the graduates.
“The knowledge and skills you have gained, you can use it to build a better future for yourselves and families.”
Mr Terlabi said the inmates now had the opportunity to be change makers, leaders and role models who could inspire others in similar situations to pursue education, personal development and effect change.
Mrs Patience Baffoe-Bonnie, the Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, lauded Plan Volta Foundation and UCC for bringing tertiary education to the doorstep of inmates.
She congratulated the graduates for their perseverance and success, saying: “ As pacesetters, you have started  on  a high note, you cannot lower the bar.”
Mr Prince Solomon, the President of the Plan Volta Foundation, appealed to the National Identification Authority to provide graduates with Ghana Cards to enable those who had served their sentences to embark on their national service.
He appealed to the government to give the graduates with teaching backgrounds, who had served their sentences, an automatic employment as teachers to serve the nation.
Special prizes and awards were presented  to graduates who had First Class.
By this feat, the University will offer them with a scholarship package to pursue a master’s programme with CoDE when they finish their prison term.