In April 1979 a national campaign was launched in South Africa by the Prisoners' Education Committee to secure for all prisoners the legal right to study during their imprisonment. The object of the campaign is to have the regulations of the Prisons Act (no. 8 of 1959) changed in order to make this possible. At present permission for a prisoner to study is at the discretion of the Commissioner of Prisons.
This matter has been a particularly acute one for political prisoners since November 1977, when the government withdrew permission for them to study above the level of matriculation for higher education qualifications.
The campaign, launched by the Durban-based Prisoners' Education Committee, is co-sponsored by the Black Sash, the South African Institute of Race Relations, the Civil Rights League and the National Council of Women. The committee, launched by a group of concerned lawyers and teachers, plans to organise national campaigns to publicize the issue by holding public meetings, enlisting support of church, educational and other organisations, and by drafting a public petition to present to the authorities.
The then Minister of Prisons, Mr. J. Kruger, stated in parliament in May that only prisoners serving sentences "for crimes against the state" (that is political prisoners) require permission to pursue post-matriculation studies. He continued: "All other prisoners who satisfy the requirements for admission to suitable courses are permitted to pursue such studies". He said that at present 26 political prisoners were pursuing post-matriculation studies - 19 of them on Robben Island, six at Pretoria Local and one at Kroonstad women's prison.
Opposition M.P. Mrs. Helen Suzman commented that when these people completed their present studies "no further post-matriculation studies will be permitted except in very special circumstances".
