In Jhansi Jail a Special Study Centre has Opened by IGNOU

In Jhansi Jail a Special Study Centre has Opened by IGNOU

In order to encourage education among jail inmates, IGNOU regional centre, Lucknow, has opened a special study centre at District Jail, Jhansi. The jail houses 947 men and women inmates.

In a special programme held at jail on Saturday, deputy director, IGNOU regional centre, Lucknow, Anil Kumar Mishra, said that this is an effort by the organization towards the fulfillment of corporate social responsibility. They find it best to educate jail inmates.

The education and study material will be free of cost which will be provided by IGNOU. Professors from Bundelkhand University and Bipin Behari Degree College will be sent as resource persons at regular intervals. To ease the admission procedure, there has been no compulsion of producing previous documents. The admission will be done on the basis of age certificate of any kind.

Inmates will have a choice to opt from more than half-a-dozen professional and academic courses. These are Bachelor of Preparatory Programme (BPP), Certificate in Food and Nutrition (CFN), BA, MA, BCom, environmental studies and certificate in human rights. Till now 142 persons have been enrolled and 47 inmates filled up the form after the counselling session on Saturday. They are all men. No women came forward to get enroll. Citing technical problems, deputy jailor JP Dubey said that there is no provision for men and women inmates to sit together while the examinations will be held at a single place. He appreciated the move and said that it is necessary that the inmates are engaged in creative activities like this.

Mishra said that this hurdle can be overcome as it has been done in model jails in Lucknow where both men and women are being enrolled in various courses and utilizing their free time in constructive activities.

The move was supported by the inmates, most of them took it as a positive step. Santram Ahirwar, who is serving life term under Dowry Act, says that it is a positive step which will help people like him. A graduate himself, Santram was working as a teacher before he was sentenced. Inside jail, he teaches fellow inmates.

Courtesy : www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com