Education and personal development

Prisons: adult prisoners

Articles 48 and 49 of the Custodial Institutions Act (Penitentiaire beginselenwet, Pbw) govern education, access to news, library use, sport and recreation. Under the Council of Europe's recommendations, education should be widely accessible, including vocational training and social skills. Participation in education should be valued no less than work, including financially.

Taking part in education

Article 48(1) Pbw gives you the right to education and other educational activities, insofar as they suit your personal circumstances and the nature and length of your detention. This does not mean that every course you want must be available.

During the Intake, Screening and Selection Procedure (Inkomsten-, Screening- en Selectieprocedure, ISS), your education and work history are reviewed. Additional tests can help establish your abilities and interests. You must show that you are motivated. Education arrangements are included in your detention and reintegration plan (detentie- en re-integratieplan): the plan setting out arrangements for your stay and return to society.

There is a basic range of education available nationally through which you can gain recognised qualifications. Education should match your abilities, wishes and courses outside detention as closely as possible. To achieve this, institutions seek cooperation with schools and training centres in the region.

The range available depends on the institution and the length of stay. A closed institution where people stay for a long time must offer more than a more open institution with short stays. In a remand centre (huis van bewaring), the range may be more limited. Education must not be removed entirely from the daily programme, the Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (Raad voor Strafrechtstoepassing en Jeugdbescherming, RSJ) ruled on 4 October 2005, 05/1643/GA.

The institution must make some effort to accommodate a request for a particular course. Security may justify restrictions, but the director must always weigh up your personal interests. Where there are staffing problems, facilities must be sought that allow you to continue studying. Six weeks with almost no education may lead to a complaint (beklag) being upheld (RSJ 18 September 2014, 14/2045/GA).

Computer and internet use

Internet access is limited because of security risks. The right to study does not automatically give you the right to a computer. The director must assess your individual situation and may impose conditions on internet use under Article 7(b) of the Regulations on Contributions towards Prisoners' Education Costs (Regeling tegemoetkoming kosten onderwijs gedetineerden).

That assessment does not always have to result in permission. In KC 2022/002, dated 31 March 2022, several discussions had taken place about digital education at the Open Universiteit. Because the options had genuinely been investigated, no failure to meet the duty of care was found.

A transfer also does not guarantee that you can continue every course. A complaint (beklag) about an unavailable SVS course was rejected because it fell outside the basic range of education and the new institution had investigated future options (KC 2023/013, 2 February 2023).

Study costs and missed work

If the institution does not cover your study costs, you can ask for a contribution. Under Article 2 of the Regulations on Contributions towards Prisoners' Education Costs (Regeling tegemoetkoming kosten onderwijs gedetineerden), you must explain and support:

• that you are capable of completing the course;
• that you cannot pay the costs yourself;
• how much money is needed;
• how the activity fits into your detention and reintegration plan (detentie- en re-integratieplan).

Article 4 allows a request to be refused if another course is already being funded, you are sufficiently qualified for work after detention, or you can complete less than half of the course during your stay. In special circumstances, the director may depart from these rules under Article 4(2).

The contribution to reintegration is taken into account. Where a person had a long period left to serve, followed by a hospital order (tbs), a request could be refused because the course would not make a realistic contribution to reintegration (RSJ 11 December 2025, 25/47864/GA).

Does education cause you to miss hours of workshop work, task-based work or piecework included in your plan? You may receive compensation for this. Article 5a of the Regulations on Prisoners' Work (Regeling arbeid gedetineerden) sets the amount.

News and the library

Article 48(1) Pbw gives you the right to access news at your own expense and to use the library weekly. You can follow the news through newspapers, magazines, radio and television. You pay for your own subscription or a rented radio or television in your cell.

A newspaper you subscribe to must be handed out promptly; only exceptional circumstances justify a delay. You retain the right to access news even in a disciplinary or segregation cell. Books, newspapers and magazines may only be brought in directly from the publisher. The director may refuse publications if they disrupt order or security.

The following principles apply to library use:

• In a closed institution, you can generally borrow books in person at least once a week.
• The Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (RSJ) has found a ten-minute visit sufficient for the essentials.
• An arrangement where you alternate between visiting one week and requesting books the next is permitted.
• The director must make extra efforts to prevent cancellations and make up for cancelled sessions.
• On an extra-secure unit, ordering books in writing may replace a visit.

In less secure settings, if leave is possible, visiting a public library may also be possible.

Sport and physical exercise

Under Article 48(2) Pbw, you are entitled to at least two 45-minute sessions of physical exercise each week. You cannot demand a particular sport. Participation is voluntary, but if you do not take part, you will not receive another activity in its place.

If a session is cancelled because of circumstances beyond the institution's control, the director must make sufficient efforts to reschedule it or make up for it in full. The Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (RSJ) previously ruled that a one-off staff absence could not be attributed to the director. If disruption continues for a long time, alternatives must be sought.

However, if only one sports session remains in a week, this breaches Article 48(2) Pbw. Staff shortages do not justify this. Only during the coronavirus period did the Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (RSJ) accept an exceptional justification in some cases (RSJ 1 May 2024, 23/32160/GA).

Sport and recreation must not replace each other. The programme must prevent you from having to choose between these two rights. A medical assessment may, however, justify a ban on sport, for example if the institution's doctor considers exercise in high temperatures unsafe.

Recreation

Article 49(2) Pbw gives you the right to at least six hours of recreation per week. A shortfall cannot be made up in a later week. Under a communal regime (gemeenschapsregime), recreation mainly means being able to do activities together outside your cell.

The institution does not have to organise a programme during these hours. You can use the time yourself, for example to watch television, play table tennis or play board games. The right to recreation may be restricted, including when you report sick.

Hospital orders with compulsory treatment (tbs met dwangverpleging)

Under a hospital order with compulsory treatment (tbs met dwangverpleging), treatment is the main focus. Article 43(1) of the Hospital Orders (Care) Act (Beginselenwet verpleging ter beschikking gestelden, Bvt) requires the head of the institution to provide education, personal development, social assistance, relaxation and sport, among other things, insofar as the care and treatment plan does not already provide for them. This is a duty of care: the institution must ensure that these facilities are available.

Learning, treatment and work experience

Education may include language, numeracy and computer skills, as well as vocational courses such as woodwork and metalwork. Besides developing knowledge and study skills, it can help build confidence, responsibility and an understanding of your abilities. Education therefore also serves a treatment purpose.

Education and work opportunities are included in the treatment plan, with goals suited to your skills. Workshops offer opportunities to gain experience and certificates. Examples include vocational courses at the Van der Hoeven Kliniek and the woodworking workshop, bicycle repair workshop, printing workshop and candle-making workshop at FPC de Oostvaarderskliniek.

Applying for a contribution towards costs

Article 43(4) Bvt allows you to request reimbursement. This covers education at a legally recognised educational institution or other activities that develop personal skills, such as correspondence courses or music education. A contribution is only possible if the institution does not offer the education or activity itself.

Under Article 2(2) of the Regulations on Contributions towards Education Costs for Patients under Hospital Orders (Regeling tegemoetkoming kosten onderwijs verpleegden), you must apply in writing and in good time, before the enrolment deadline. Include at least:

• your name;
• the course or activity you want to take;
• your previous education;
• the associated costs.

The head of the institution must decide within one month of receiving the application. Under Article 3, costs are not reimbursed to the extent that another scheme pays, you can pay yourself, or the activity does not fit your individual treatment goals. Motivation, participation and study progress may also be taken into account.

The funded activity becomes part of the care and treatment plan. Arrangements are recorded in the patient file (verpleegdedossier), the file about your care and treatment (Article 4(1) and (2)).

Library, culture and sport

Article 43(2) Bvt requires the institution to provide a library facility. The house rules govern its use.

There are also activities such as painting, music, drama and sport. These can offer relaxation and contribute to treatment. Examples include theatre projects, museum visits and training shelter dogs with Dutch Cell Dogs. Ordinary recreational activities, such as chess, the Dutch card game klaverjassen and bingo, are also offered. The type of activity varies between institutions.

Complaints about education and facilities

In prisons

Complaints (beklag) may concern a lack of education, insufficient opportunities to continue an approved course, or missed sports and library sessions. The assessment depends on your circumstances, your legal rights and what the director has done to find a solution. Refusal of your preferred course is not automatically unlawful.

During a hospital order (tbs)

For education, the issue is whether the duty of care is being met. You can make a complaint (beklag) about a complete lack of education. If education is offered, a complaint about its educational content is generally inadmissible: this means the substance of the complaint will not be assessed.

In KC 2010/009 of 14 January 2010, start-up problems no longer justified the lack of education. The complaint was upheld and € 50 in compensation was awarded. In KC 2010/012 of 22 February 2010, a lack of education also led to € 50 in compensation. The absence of a library was also grounds for a complaint, but complaints about the number and quality of books that had since become available were inadmissible.

A specific refusal of study equipment may, however, require assessment. In KC 2014/047 of 7 March 2014, the reasons for refusing a checked and adapted laptop had not been explained sufficiently. The shared computers did not provide enough certainty that the necessary study time would be available. A new decision had to be made; the ruling was upheld on appeal (RSJ 22 June 2015, 15/0439/TA). This does not create a general right to your own laptop.

What does this mean for you?

Make your request specific: which course do you want to take, why does it suit your abilities, and what support do you need? Also specify the computer time, learning materials and costs involved. Ask for arrangements to be recorded in your detention and reintegration plan (detentie- en re-integratieplan) or treatment plan.

When sessions are cancelled, keep a record of the lessons, sports sessions or library visits you miss and any alternatives offered. This helps make clear what is missing. If your request is refused, ask which personal interests and security reasons were taken into account. When applying for study costs during a hospital order (tbs), take account of both the enrolment deadline and the one-month decision period.

This page draws on the expertise of Mr. S.P.C. (Stan) Broekmans, a specialist in detention law at Hameleers Antonides Advocaten. Do you have a question about your own situation? Please get in touch; an initial assessment is free.

Other topics

• Arrestant detainees
• Belongings
• Camera surveillance
• Compensation
• Complaints procedure (beklagprocedure)
• Compulsory treatment