Rehabilitation of prisoners a priority focus for the 2023 Chevening Scholarship awardee

By Aabigayle McIntosh

Contributing to prisoners’ rehabilitation will be the main focus for Antigua’s 2023 Chevening scholarship awardee Curtis Cornelius once he has completed his studies.

He is among 15 awardees from Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean recently announced by the British High Commission as Chevening Scholars. Attached to the Ministry of Legal Affairs as a Crown Counsel, Cornelius will be pursuing a Master of Science Degree in Criminology with a focus on offender rehabilitation at the University of Leicester.

He said this is an essential area in the criminal justice system that requires attention. “We have a system where convicted felons go to prison; they come back out, they re-offend; why is that happening? It is because they have not been allowed to better themselves in prison.

“What I want is for rehabilitation to be a focal point of our correctional facility and not just a place where people go, spend time, and re-offend again. I know our Attorney General had some plans in 2019 to have an Antigua Parole Board where rehabilitation would have been a huge part of that plan”, Cornelius said during a state media interview.

The UK High Commission noted that Cornelius joins a prestigious list of scholars from the twin-island state, including parliamentarians, union leaders, and environmental specialists.

He will pursue an MSc in Criminology at the University of Leicester. He is now the first male scholar from Antigua and Barbuda since Kurt Williams in 2016 and the latest for the country since Sharifa George, Jeneice St Romaine, and Malaeka Goodwin for 21/22. Chevening is the UK government’s international scholarships program.

Funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office and partner organizations, it offers awards to study in the UK for one year on a fully funded master’s degree course.

Successful Chevening candidates come from diverse countries and backgrounds, but they all demonstrate the passion, vision, and skills needed to shape a better world.