“We are no longer in prison when we are nose in the books”, 20 inmates of the prison of Grenoble-Varces graduates from National Education

We remember the clamor caused last August by a karting match in the Fresnes prison … At the prison center of Grenoble-Varces, on Wednesday 19 October there was a graduation ceremony for the inmates.

It was this Wednesday, October 19th, a different, somewhat special day at the detention center in Grenoble-Varces. Graduation day in honor of the inmates.

I am 20 this year to have achieved a CAP (certificate of professional aptitude), a CFG (certificate of general training) or a DELF (diploma of studies in French). Most of them are young people without qualifications or with a low level of qualification, in a situation of illiteracy or not mastering the French language, but not only.

We are no longer in prison when we are nose in the books

Eric is 55 years old. He now he is pursuing a degree in English. He is sentenced for the long term. The release isn’t really for tomorrow. However, this diploma is good for him: “ the good for nothing has succeeded smiled, flatter my ego, I don’t know what to do with it, but I travel a lot, it will always be useful to me. (…) in prison there are ups and downs, you must not indulge in idleness, otherwise you will curl up and depression awaits you, you must have a goal. I left school too early, you realize it later, I like to learn, I have thrown myself back into everything I loved before, history, geography, to tell the truth I spent more degrees in prison than outside “.

The future ? Eric still has many years left, but he dreams of working outdoors, taking care of aromatic and medicinal plants and green spaces. He intends to continue his apprenticeship in this field.

It is also a day of pride for Alessio, for whom it is his first stay in prison in France: “In Italy I have never had a diploma. For me it means a lot, it shows that in life it is difficult, but not impossible, besides I have made it with many points, it motivates me to do something else, to get out of here, it gives me confidence in myself, and in my potential, and then it helped me to work, to use my free time, to make my brain work. “

Sentenced to nearly two years in prison, he still does not know what he will do once he is released : “I haven’t decided yet, I’m thinking, maybe a translator, in any case I won’t do anything illegal anymore” ensures.

Quite often, they were unsuccessful on their initial journey, and this encourages them to continue. It is a step towards social reintegration

Patrick Malle, director of the Grenoble-Varces pre-trial detention center

For plant manager Patrick Malle, “cIt is important to communicate, to let people know, we have inmates who are striving to enroll, especially in vocational training, it is important for the whole educational team of teachers and for the inmates who need to be valued for their work. Very often, they have failed in their initial path and this encourages them to continue. “

All detainees are informed on their arrival of this possibility of following or resuming courses or training. Not all of them are university graduates, but they can attend classes.

So is it difficult to find teachers in prison? “Some speakers only stay for a year when they don’t feel comfortable, but we have four full classes all year round, and members of the teaching team in general get involved because they have a particular motivation. It might seem less obvious to find people to teach in prison rather than outside, but it is less complicated than you might think.“assures Patrick Malle.

“Yes, we also have more candidates for these missions than necessary. These are often 1st grade teachers, who are already accustomed to a somewhat special audience“Adds Hélène Insel, rector of the Grenoble Academy, who handed the certificate to the inmates on Wednesday.

It is difficult to have precise and quantified results on the paths of inmates who have left the Varces pre-trial detention center, but there is one certainty, he concludes: “when you are in prison and you are able to mobilize to acquire skills, it is because you are able to project yourself towards a positive outcome, it allows you to provoke this positive outcome and to give more possibilities for professional reintegration This allows them to project themselves, but during detention it is also an “escape” to learn “.

Each year around 100 people incarcerated in Grenoble-Varces undergo a specialized apprenticeship, which leads to a permanent diploma, a first step towards social reintegration.