Waste of tax payers money or a great program?

[Nate]

Rikers makes the school mandatory for inmates who are 16 or 17 and encourages it for inmates ages 18 to 21. Some 3,600 students pass through the school per year, and about 800 are enrolled at any given time, the New York City Department of Correction said.
Experts say educating prisoners is critical for improving their chances of staying out of jail once they are released.

Inmates graduate with high school diplomas, in New York jail - US news - msnbc.com

I'm curious, how many people on this board believe in rehabilitation? I think this is a great program that should be adopted on a federal level... Not only that I also think it should expand to include college classes.
So is this a waste of money?

 

[Truthmatters]

our prison system is a mess.

education sure could not hurt it