'Never too late,' says N-level candidate serving 11th jail term

Giving in to peer pressure, Daniel (not his real name) found himself on the wrong path.

The 39-year-old is currently serving a jail term of five years and four months for drug-related offences. This is the 11th time he is in jail.

But he decided that this round will be different.

Leveraging the limited access he had to computers and the in-person classes, Daniel worked towards sitting the N-level exams.

This week, he and 45 other inmates charted a 100 per cent N-level passing rate for Prison School.

Out of the 46, 75 per cent of the 24 N(A) inmate candidates and 68.2 per cent of the 22 N(T) inmate candidates meet the entry requirements for ITE courses.

Daniel was among those who qualify for ITE. He scored A for both Mathematics and Computer Applications, and B for English.

“It’s never too late to start over again. If I can do it, others can definitely do it too,” said Daniel, who hopes to encourage others in their academic journey.

Daniel plans to enrol for a course at Shatec to chase his dream to work in the Hospitality and Tourism Management Industry. He had worked in a hotel before and it was something he enjoyed.

Mr Tong Yechuan, who started teaching at Prison School in June this year, shared that many students are highly motivated in their studies.

Students there are in their 20s to 60s, with some not proficient in English and others who have been incarcerated for so long that they are unaware of technologies such as ChatGPT and coding.

Mr Tong added that he was inspired by colleagues who were once students in the Prison School themselves, working hard and coming back to serve as adjunct teachers.

Each year, more than 270 inmates further their education through various classes of different levels.