4.7 Teaching and Access to the Internet The fight against illiteracy is indeed the major axis of teaching in prison, with the development of French language learning schemes (FFL) for foreign language-speaking prisoners. The inspectors have often ascertained a shortage of teachers. As a result, other disciplines are little taught or entirely neglected, in particular higher education and access to university courses. Moreover, during school holidays, unless teachers offer to come on a voluntary basis, no teaching is provided other than on a voluntary basis, except in situations noted by the inspectors, where the teachers have put an organisation of their holidays in place which avoids allowing an educational desert to exist for long periods. Introduction of controlled access to the Internet tool in penal institutions would enable true progress in education in the prison environment, as mentioned above128, in particular in order to develop access to higher education for prisoners serving long sentences. 4.8 Assistance for Persons without Adequate Resources, the Limits of the System Pursuant to the terms of article 31 of the Prisons Act, the prisons Administration distributed a circular at 17th of May 2013 concerning the fight against poverty in prison. Thus persons having less than 50 euros at their disposal for their basic needs (purchases in prison shop, payment for television etc.) over a precise period (from the months preceding the taking of the decision) are referred to as persons “lacking adequate resources”. Persons meeting these criteria can then receive assistance in several different forms: in kind (clothes, toiletry necessaries, correspondence necessaries etc.) or in cash (supplied to a personal account or contribution to education costs, administrative measures etc.). At the time of their visits, the inspectors have noted that, overall, these rules are applied in most cases. However, they denoted differences of interpretation which could go against the intended objective. Thus classification of persons lacking resources is sometimes effected at the beginning of the month, which results in their personal account balance being taken into consideration, for the previous two months rather than from the beginning of the preceding month. The maximum sum that can be paid into personal accounts appears to be insufficient. One case was brought to the Contrôleur Général’s attention in which one person, having received a cash allowance of 20 euros, received a postal order of 30 euros the following month. Their personal account then having reached 50 euros, the person no longer met the criteria enabling them to have the status of person without adequate resources; they therefore had to survive for three months (the month in which they had the benefit of the allowance of 20 euros, the month in which they had received the postal order and the following month) with a sum total of 50 euros, i.e. an average of 16.67 euros per month. Moreover, the inspectors have ascertained the existence of families in financial situations such that prisoners without adequate resources sometimes send them the sums granted to themselves. In addition, it is established that the sums paid to prisoners within the framework of home help are sometimes taken into account in order to determine whether or not they qualify for the status of persons without adequate resources. This is contrary to the rules of ordinary law. 128 § 3.3. 100