By Prathiba Raju, IANS,
New Delhi : The high walls of Tihar haven’t stopped Dhritiman Azarika, 25, from pursuing a degree in social work. He is among more than 150 inmates enrolled in postgraduate courses at South Asia’s largest prison – an effort that is not only earning them an education but also changing them behaviourally.
Azarika, who is on trial for a scam, told IANS: “I have been here for 13 months. For over a month I confined myself to a corner. But after the jail superintendent asked me to continue postgraduation, I’m doing a degree in social work. Now I have gained confidence that soon I will be out and lead a normal life.”
Education is changing lives for many of the 10,500 inmates in Tihar.
“Tihar Jail believes education may help reduce crime and instil prudence among prisoners,” Manoj K. Dwivedi, jail superintendent in Tihar Jail, told IANS.
“More than 150 inmates are pursuing different postgraduate courses and we have seen a tremendous change in their behavioural pattern after they take up education,” he added.
“Equipping them with sound education will keep them out of criminal activities once they finish serving their sentences,” Dwivedi said.
The postgraduate courses are run by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Asia’s largest open university. These are in business administration, commerce, public administration, Hindi, creative English, political science, social work, tourism, arts, comerce and social work, and also various diplomas and certificate courses in fields like social work, human rights, food and nutrition.
Undertrials and convicts who are school dropouts are also encouraged to pick up where they left off through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS).
Dwivedi believes the prisoners who attend educational programmes are less likely to return to prison after their release. They have a degree and are confident of getting a job after the release and not turn to crime, he said.
“Without any kind of skill, they will be back here in no time, but with an educational certificate under their arm, they will not be back in prison,” he added.
Till 2009, the inmates had to pay Rs.150,000 to Rs.200,000 to enrol with the Jail Study Centre of IGNOU. With a huge response from prisoners, the university waived the fee for inmates from last year.
Gaijaomei George Kamei, who is on trial for the murder of his girlfriend in 2009, is preparing for his Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams.
“I cannot repent for what has happened but move forward,” Kamei said. Both he and Azarika say the prison has changed for the better.
Sandeep Singh, who has completed his masters in tourism from jail and is on trial for criminal conspiracy and murder, said: “At times we have problems with other inmates. While preparing for exams, I usually study after 10 p.m. or early in the morning so I will be less distracted.”
Dwivedi said some people were still reluctant to pursue their studies as they were not sure whether they would get a job or that society would accept them.
“After much persuasion and talking to different companies, we brought job placements for jail inmates and it was successful. About 40 prisoners were given placement,” he said.
IGNOU has set up regional centres in 27 states to coordinate with jails. Since 1994 about 6,570 jail inmates had enrolled themselves in its various degree programmes. This year alone, 2,929 prisoners have enrolled themselves in 47 jails across various states.
A noted example of a person studying behind bars is Nalini Sriharan, who was jailed for assassinating then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. She was the first prisoner to get a master’s degree with distinction in computer applications (MCA) from IGNOU in 2009.
“Their is no change in the curriculum for jail inmates, the usual course material is given to them. But unlike the other students, jail inmates have more classes and face-to-face sessions with the teachers,” said Neeta Kapai, head of campus placement cell, IGNOU.
She also said more foreign language-oriented courses would be included as prison inmates would demand courses on French, German and Spanish. “Though we have such courses in IGNOU, we haven’t started to allow those for jail inmates, but it is likely this year,” she said.
(Prathiba Raju can be contacted at [email protected])