Nice intervention to change the life and attitude of those who have to be in jail.
vns *Learning has no bars, proves Patna jail* *Patna:* A prisoner fiddling with the key board may appear strange but it has turned into a reality for over 100 prisoners lodged in the Beur Model Jail near Patna. They are learning computers these days. But what is striking is the curiosity shown by other prisoners. Having lived a life with guns and goons, they are now eager to turn a new leaf. Around 100 undertrial prisoners, both male and female, of the high security jail, who were recently enrolled with the Nalanda Open University, appeared at the test on Sunday. "We are surprised at the result of the test. Almost all examinees fared well at the examination," Jail Superintendent Dilip Kumar Singh said. Encouraged by the overwhelming response from the inmates in computer learning course, the prison authorities have urged the university to start more courses for the prisoners. Nalanda Open University (NOU)Vice Chancellor VS Dubey said, "We are thinking of launching more job-oriented course for the prisoners to make them self reliant." He said a separate classroom with 25 tables and benches has been set up in the jail campus for the purpose. Besides, the prison will soon have a separate computer lab for the inmates. According to the Vice Chancellor, a separate library has been set up for the prisoners, who are enrolled with any course. The library has been provided 1,200 books, learning materials of all courses and almirahs. The jail library has the books on moral values, religion, literature and legal system, science and computers. "The NOU is also planning to extend three study centres at Gaya, Bhagalpur and Muzaffarpur central jails. Some inmates, who have M Tech and B Tech degrees, have volunteered to offer their services free of cost. This is a very good sign," Dubey said. The main idea behind setting up learning course for the prisoners is to keep them busy and inculcate sense of creativity among them, the Jail Superintendent said. He said the prisoners would be able to earn bread not only for them, but also for their families after being released from jail. NOU Registrar SP Sinha said that the university has decided to introduce both long-term and short-term courses for the prisoners. "The university provides application forms free of cost to the prisoners to lure them," he said, adding that if the experiment was successful, the university would introduce similar courses for the prisoners lodged in other divisional and district jails. Earlier, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (Ignou) had started a few courses for the prison inmates but it did not receive good response. Click <http://www.igovernment.in/NewsletterSubscription.aspx> to get the daily dose of news on good governance at iGovernment. -- Dr.V.N.Sharma http://canvas.nowpos.com/vnsharma
