Prisoners to teach other inmates in Uttar Pradesh

MORADABAD - They are behind bars, but they are educated enough to teach. Around 100 prisoners have been shortlisted for a literacy campaign in an Uttar Pradesh jail where they will be imparting lessons to other inmates.

The campaign has been initiated in Moradabad district jail and is expected to take off in the next 45 days.

Our entire exercise is primarily aimed to promote literacy, which in turn would considerably help inmates to join the mainstream,” senior jail superintendent V.K. Tripathi told IANS in Moradabad, some 300 km from Lucknow.

The classes that would be run by educated prisoners will work in three ways - making completely illiterate inmates read and write, imparting moral teachings as well as training in programmes like stitching, weaving, tailoring that would help make them self-reliant,” he said.

According to prison officials, of the 100-odd prisoners selected for the programme, some are science or commerce graduates, while others are skilled in several vocational programmes.

We are of the view that the moral teachings that would be a part of our initiative will help reforming the prisoners and would give them opportunities to serve the society, said Tripathi.

There are around 2,000 prisoners in the Moradabad district jail.

Initially, we have decided to start tailoring, weaving and other such programmes for women inmates only. Later, it would be extended to their male counterparts,” said another jail official.

There are around 200 women inmates in the prison,” he said.