Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Schools in Central Prisons soon

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a bid to revolutionise the functioning of prisons and transform them into centres of corrective administration, the Government is getting ready to open schools in all the three Central Prisons in the State. This proposal is understood to have been mooted in the draft report drawn up for revising the Prisons Act and manual. As an experiment, it has been suggested to open schools in Thiruvananthapuram, Viyyoor and Kannur prisons.

The prisons in the State would not be isles of physical torture and solitary confinement. As 95 per cent of the convicts are released after confinement, the period of detention would be utilised for rectifying the character flaws of the inmates through education, cultural activities, recreation and other corrective measures.

Official sources told The Hindu that the suggestion has been made considering the inadequacies of the existing education system in prisons. As per the existing system, the welfare officer will make arrangements for the inmates to go for higher studies. It has a lot of limitations. Not many of the inmates avail themselves of the facility to pursue studies and appear for examinations.

The three schools will have all facilities including full-time teachers, library and laboratory to impart education up to SSLC. Infrastructure facilities would also be provided for vocational training in various trades. Regular schooling and active involvement in academic and extra-curricular activities are expected to give a impetus to character reformation and erase the debasing tendencies which prompt them to get involved in criminal acts.

There will be facilities for adult literacy and non-formal education for the aged inmates. Better facilities will be provided for cultural activities and recreation. Along with the academic pursuits the new system offers scope for moral and spiritual education. Group prayers, yoga, and literature reading sessions have also been recommended to refine the inmates who undergo punishment for various offences.

The draft is understood to have recommended the involvement of voluntary organisations and non- governmental organisations with inbuilt safeguards for implementing such corrective measures. The Government has already taken the first step in this regard. The Kerala State Chalachitra Academy had organised a screening of films in the prisons and the Sahitya Akademi had conducted a literary session for the prison inmates in the capital.

Such initiatives are expected to set in motion the process of changing the face of the prisons. A final decision will be made only after approving the draft proposals, sources said.

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