Children in South Africa's prisons are starving, with officials feeding them at their whim. A scathing report by the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services shows children in jail are going without food for over 14 hours a day.In its 2013-2014 annual report, the inspectorate revealed the appalling conditions under which incarcerated children, especially those awaiting trial, are held.These include being prevented from accessing education and recreational programmes, with many kept in cells where they have no more than 1m² of space.Of the country's remand prisoner population, 44% are children and juveniles, while of the country's sentenced prisoners 27% are children and juveniles.For a Pretoria mother, whose 15-year-old son has been awaiting trial for 18 months, the thought of his conditions are too much for her."When I see him he cries and tells me how he does not get supper. That when they do get supper it's during the day and they go to bed hungry at night. He says they try to hide food, but if the warders catch them they are punished."Yes, he was bad, but he is a child. Children can't be treated like this. They have rights," she said.The inspectorate's report revealed among other things that:Children in a large number of prisons were fed breakfast more than 14 hours after their last meal;There were no educational or recreational facilities for children awaiting trial, and no access to libraries;Few children received information on how to appeal their sentences; andFew children had access to counselling after their admission into detention facilities.Kristen Petersen, of the Civil Society Prison Reform Initiative, which contributed to the survey, said there was a need to be concerned about the conditions under which children were imprisoned.Since the previous survey on children in prison, in 2012, there had been no improvement in the conditions of children in detention."The fact that nothing has been done since the last survey indicates children are not taken seriously," she said.Department of Correctional Services spokesman Manelisi Wolela said the department would respond today...