The opportunity of gaining an education or professional training for adults in prison is highly recommended, but is not mandatory. There should be the opportunity for gaining at least a primary education for school-aged persons, or those a little older, serving a prison sentence.
Read more about the type of education you are interested in:
If you have not received or commenced a general education, you should be able to continue or finish it in prison. According to the Sentence Execution Code, if you are at the age when people usually gain a general education in schools or are a little older, the prison administration is obliged to ensure that you can gain a primary education. The opportunity of gaining other kinds of education (such as secondary or professional) depends on the particular prison regime and the availability of those programs.
What human rights violations may there be?
If you are not given the chance to complete elementary education which is compulsory in Latvia, as a minor or youth, it may lead to a violation against the right to education.
How to complain
If you believe that you have been unlawfully barred from gaining an education in prison, you should complain to the prison administration. Read more about how to complain.
The State does not have an obligation to ensure educational programs for adults. However, it is highly recommended that the opportunity to acquire new knowledge and education is available in prisons for adults as well. The extent to which the prison must provide these opportunities depends on its resources.
Therefore, you can apply for the opportunity to undergo professional training or to take a specific course when they are available, but you do not have the right to demand that the prison administration provides them.
The certificate which you receive for primary or secondary education, professional training or other courses, should not mention that you obtained them in prison.