Byline: Nonjabuliso Nhlambo
05 May 2025
In a significant stride towards rehabilitation and reintegration, the National Commissioner of the Department of Correctional Services, Mr. Makgothi Samuel Thobakgale, officially opened a full-time school and a state-of-the-art bakery at the Standerton Correctional Centre on Wednesday, 30 April 2025.
The school, named Zuzicebo Senior Secondary, was registered in June 2024 and currently caters to 41 learners in Grades 8 and 9, following the CAPS curriculum. It offers nine subjects, including Creative Arts, EMS, Life Orientation, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Technology, Social Sciences, English, and isiZulu.
Commissioner Thobakgale revealed that the school will gradually expand to include Grade 10 in 2026, with its first matric cohort expected in 2028.
“We aim to get the school fully fledged by 2028. In this financial year, we will add more teachers and continue working with the Department of Basic Education to improve the school’s offerings,” he said.
Alongside the school, a correctional facility bakery was also launched, producing approximately 2,400 units of bread daily, which are distributed to nine different facilities. The bakery, which operates in full compliance with food safety regulations, currently employs 30 offenders, equipping them with practical skills to support their reintegration into society upon release.
“We are imparting skills to these offenders so that when they finish serving their sentence and go into community corrections, they can utilize the skills they have learned,” said Thobakgale.
The Commissioner emphasized that rehabilitation is a societal responsibility, and the Department is committed to working with surrounding communities to support the reintegration process.
“With all our programs, we ensure we reach out to surrounding communities and work with them to ensure rehabilitation of our offenders,” he added.
According to Commissioner Thobakgale, approximately R3.5 million was invested in establishing the school and the bakery – a move he described as a step forward in transforming correctional facilities into centres of restoration and opportunity.
