In 5 years, 307 inmates of Bhondsi jail get graduation, PG degrees
Sanjay Yadav
Gurugram, March 29
In the past five years, more than 850 prisoners in the district jail of Bhondsi have studied not only up to Class X and XII, but also done their graduation and master’s degrees in the jail. The jail administration has set up an e-library and provided books to inmates.
A senior official of the Bhondsi jail said some prisoners did vocational courses and some became literate under the literacy mission. After getting education, they now aspired to stay away from criminal activities and lead a better life.
Bhondsi jail’s Deputy Superintendent Charan Singh said, the inmates were not only told about the importance of education, but the jail authorities also made arrangements to educate them. Between 2017 and 2021, as many as 307 inmates in the jail became graduates and postgraduates.
“All prisoners were given degrees from Indira Gandhi Open University. While 1,149 prisoners were enrolled for both courses in five years, out of which 677 appeared in the exam and only 307 passed the exam and got the degree. Apart from this, 91 prisoners passed Class X and XII examinations in the five years. As many as 342 prisoners had enrolled in classes X and XII and 158 of them had appeared for the examination,” said Singh.
There are three libraries in the jail. In the libraries, there are method books for the prisoners. They have been provided facilities to take books to their barracks. e-library is also available in the jail and only educated prisoners inside the jail help in teaching others under the literacy campaign”, added Singh.
In addition to education, vocational courses were also being conducted in the jail to make the inmates self-reliant. Plumbing, carpentry and computer courses were conducted for male inmates while beauty parlour and tailoring courses were also being conducted for the women prisoners. A factory was also being run in the jail, where the prisoners who became skilled artisans worked on receiving orders from companies and earned money.
According to jail officials, in the past five years, 304 prisoners were enrolled for vocational courses, out of which, 162 prisoners appeared in exams and 152 passed. Apart from this, 696 prisoners took admission and 383 took the exam. As many as 302 passed the exam and became literate under the literacy mission.
e-library set up for prisoners
- Bhondsi jail is spread over 87 acres and has a capacity to keep 2,412 prisoners
- The jail administration has set up an e-library and provided books to inmates
- It has facilities such as a hospital, IGNOU Centre, factory, bakery unit, among others
