14 hours ago
Kaushambi jail to launch 2nd phase of literacy programme for illiterate inmates
Prayagraj: As many as 60 inmates of Kaushambi district jail, who had never been to school, will learn to read and write and get trained in basic arithmetic by five 'literate prisoners' under the second phase of the Shiksha Plus campaign.
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Under the campaign, the Shiv Nadar Foundation will provide digital training to five intermediate pass-out inmates, who will later teach other prisoners. The classes will start in first week of July.
"It's a 90-day schedule, and regular classes will be conducted for the inmates from the first week of July. The classes will be held in two batches with 30 inmates in each. One batch will be for women inmates, and the other batches will have inmates below 25 years of age and above 40 years of age," Kaushambi district superintendent jail Ajitesh Mishra told TOI.
Mishra said there are around 850 inmates lodged at Kaushambi district jail of which 60, who never went to school, were identified.
"After carrying out a survey, we picked up 60 inmates who showed a keen interest in learning basic arithmetic," he said, adding , "Members of the Shiv Nadar Foundation will provide digital training on laptops to five inmates who are intermediate pass or have done graduation. They would later conduct classes for all 60 inmates in two batches."
Each batch will be provided with books and stationery, and they will also be given homework sheets and tutorials.
Regular tests will also be held, said Mishra.
"The classes will have blackboards, and laptops will be given to teachers to help inmates gain basic knowledge of computers," Mishra said. Under the first phase of Shiksha Plus, 90 inmates were educated last year.
"It will be the ongoing digital education atmosphere on the Kaushambi jail campus," he added.
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More inmates will be covered under the digital training programme in the future. Jail authorities said they have also set up a library for inmates who want to pursue graduation and post-graduation courses. The library has a collection of over 600 books on all subjects from primary to post-graduation.
"This will go a long way in ensuring proper rehabilitation of inmates," Mishra added. The Shiksha Plus campaign is an adult literacy programme run by the Shiv Nadar Foundation. It focuses on teaching basic literacy skills – reading, writing, and arithmetic – to adults who have missed out on formal education, particularly those over 15 years old. The programme utilizes an ICT-based methodology to deliver its curriculum and has been implemented in various settings, including rural communities and even jails.
