Cutbacks in prison literacy and self esteem programmes are harming rehabilitation, educators and prison experts have warned.

Last year the prison?s three, part-time literacy tutors were reduced to doing 20 hours a week each because of budgeting problems.

Reading Clinic President Ann Dunstan said tutors tried to reduce the impact of the cutback by doubling up with pupils but it reduced the quality of the learning.

?It?s not the best way round it.

?We are trying to find a way where some of those who are released have reading lessons after they get out but no-one wants to pay for it.

?I have tried, through Probation services, but no one wants to get involved.?

But she said reading skills made a huge difference in boosting prisoners and told of one who started with reading skills of primary grade one level who was able to read at a college level standard after two and a half years on the programme.

?He became really excited about it. You cannot imagine what it must be like be unable to read a bottle of aspirin or the words on an ATM machine.?

Mrs. Dunstan said that prisoner had been on a drug rehab programme which required him to read but it was wasted because no one spotted he was unable to.

She said the reading programme was accepted by the prisoners and the three tutors felt safe teaching inmates.

The social skills and anger management programme, which was needed to boost inmates confidence before they joined the reading programme, has also suffered budget cuts, said Mrs Dunstan. The 28-hour programme is only available in one of the prison facilities one time.

?It builds up self esteem and gets prisoners to understand they are not dumb just because they can?t read.

?We have prisoners wanting to go on it but there?s no money.?

?We estimate one third of the prison population would benefit from this programme.?

Parole Board chairman Allen Robinson has called for more literacy and vocational training programmes for inmates.

He says illiteracy is a key stumbling block in the goal of helping prisoners get on when they leave.

?I am not sure there are enough. The prison is strapped for cash.

?We wish there were more programmes for the offenders to do while inside. We are very concerned about the levels of literacy.

?We have seen documents from a few years ago saying as much as one third of people in prison have very low reading scores. Frequently it?s accompanied by a reduced level of interaction.

?We would like to see improved programmes of vocational skills so that these guys get out with skills they can market.

?We are saying they must have a job when they get out.?

But he said if they were only doing the same thing as where doing when they were jailed then there had been no advancement.

There was a big need for more halfway house places, said Mr. Robinson.

He said the Transitional Living Centre only took 15 people but there was a need for four times that as many ex-inmates struggled to find somewhere to live ? especially as many had fallen out with their families.