Plan to educate jail inmates still a pipe dream
AFTER THE FIRST LETTER IN SEPT 2019, DG (PRISONS) HAS SENT FIVE REMINDERS TO DIRECTOR ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
CHANDIGARH: The Haryana prison department’s 20-monthold proposal to educate the inmates, especially women prisoners and their kids, is yet to take off despite eight letters being sent to the elementary education department to depute one teacher in every jail on temporary basis, according to official documents.
There are about 21,600 prisoners lodged in 19 jails of Haryana against the authorised capacity of 20,041. While 5,168 prisoners are convicts and over 16,400 are undertrials. Lodged in these jails are about 684 women prisoners, including 171 convicted women inmates, who have been serving their sentence along with their children. A section of the prisoners are uneducated.
Stressing on the urgency of educating the prisoners in order to help their seamless rehabilitation into the society after they serve their sentences, the director general (DG) prisons had first mooted this proposal in September 2019, asking the director elementary education to post one JBT guest teacher in every jail.
As per the first letter of the DG prisons, “among the inmates are mothers and their children, illiterate convicted prisoners and youth.”
In every letter/reminder the DG prisons said “educating these inmates is important to help them become good citizens.”
According to DG (prisons) Shatrujeet Kapur, whose predecessor had mooted the proposal and kept pursuing it, “About 75% of the inmates in Haryana prisons are undertrials and reforming them is crucial.”
He said the jail department is seeking just one teacher for each prison on temporary basis. “We have only 19 prisons in Haryana,” he added.
After the first letter to the director elementary education on September 10, 2019, the DG (prisons) sent five reminders in 2020 (January 15, March 6, October 9, November 3, December 14) followed by another reminder on February 11, 2021.
He sent the final reminder so far on March 16 this year to know the fate of the proposal.
In the latest reminder to the director elementary education, the DG (prisons) said the jail department, through many letters, has been requesting to direct the district elementary education officers to appoint a teacher on temporary basis in all district prisons except central jail Hisar and district jails of Palwal and Rewari.
“However, we have not received any intimation from your office in this regard. Thus, we again request you to issue the necessary directions,” the letter reads. When contacted, neither the director elementary education nor the joint directors dealing with the matter, were available for comments.
Sources said on May 21, office of director elementary education sent a letter (HT has a copy of which) to all district elementary education officers informing them about the proposal of the jail department and asking them to reply so that JBT teachers can be posted on temporary basis in district jails.