Increased prison school offerings improve inmates' prospects after release

Nakarasan, 49, has been in and out of prison since his teenage years for offences such as robbery, vehicle theft and housebreaking.

- Syarafana Shafeeq

When he was handed a 10-year prison sentence in 2015, the extent of the time he would be behind bars hit him.

"I wanted to change. I realised I was wasting my life," Nakarasan, who did not want to give his full name, told The Sunday Times.

Determined to make that his last incarceration, he enrolled in a Nitec course in electronics and computer networking in prison school to give himself a goal to work towards.

"I realised that education was my ticket to a new life. I wanted to break free, to live with purpose, and to truly embrace the life I was meant to lead," he said.

Nakarasan, who will be released in March 2025, is now in a halfway house for the last part of his sentence. He continued his studies in prison school in 2023, pursuing a diploma in business practice (administration and management) from Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP). He completed the course in May 2024, and now works at a pharmaceutical company.

"This job has helped me rebuild my life, and I am deeply appreciative of the trust and support I have received along the way," he said.

He is one of 300 people who studied while in prison in 2023.