Literacy programme for jail inmates

Sep 2024 Rasheeda Bhagat

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In an interesting initiative, Rotary India Literacy Mission (RILM) has launched a motivating programme for prison inmates in West Bengal through a comprehensive literacy project. “Thanks to the initiative and help from my friend Imran Zaki, an eminent social worker in Kolkata and Sanjay Singh, ADG, Correctional Homes, West Bengal, RILM has been able to give the gift of literacy to about 800 prison inmates from eight correctional homes in West Bengal through our adult literacy programme,” says past RI President Shekhar Mehta.

Prisoners at a literacy training session.

There is always some degree of risk in implementing rehabilitative welfare measures for prison inmates but with the help of Singh, who is always ready to embrace novel ideas which would benefit prisoners, RILM was able to implement its each-one-teach-one project in these eight correctional homes.

Overcoming the challenges and even risks inherent in mixing prisoners of different categories, through this literacy project, several online orientation sessions were conducted and educated prisoners were encouraged to conduct literacy sessions inside the jail premises. Based on the RILM model, over 50 educated jail inmates took upon the challenging but rewarding task of making the non-literate prisoners literate with the help of a user-friendly toolkit developed by RILM, Mehta said.

Prisoners with their learning kits designed by RILM.

He visited one of the correctional homes and had a brief interaction with the non-literate jail inmates, during which he explained to them about the RILM Adult Literacy programme and how the initiative could help them gain confidence in their day-to-day lives. The online orientation sessions were conducted using laptops/computers. The prison authorities and educated inmates volunteered to teach the non-literate prisoners and they were taken through the programme details and taught how to implement this project so that their fellow inmates can gradually gain access to the magic world of words and numbers.

It required sustained efforts from the RILM team to ensure successful implementation of Phase-1 of this programme in 2023–24. Mehta was happy to be told that as the literacy programme “began to take roots within the prison walls, the transformation was palpable. Adult literacy programmes promote a positive life and it had a profound impact on the inmates. Many participants have reported a significant relief from mental worries, finding solace in the structure and focus that knowledge brings. The sessions have not only provided an educational outlet but have also sparked a desire among others to join, highlighting the programme’s success in creating a positive learning environment,” he added.

PRIP Shekhar Mehta with social worker Imran Zaki (third from left), ADG Sanjay Singh (sixth from L) and RILM and prison officials.

In a heartening response through an official letter, the ADG thanked the RILM for conducting this programme in eight correctional homes. The feedback said, “Through this programme the inmates are having a good time and getting rid of their mental worries. Most of them are happy to participate in the learning in their free time. They learn the alphabets, numbers and how to make words, how to write their names, their father’s names, how to sign letters and make small calculations. They have also learnt some common basic words.”

The newly literate inmates were even engaging in some basic talk on ethics and moral values, discipline and punctuality and many have expressed their interest to participate more in this literacy programme.

A big positive in the feedback from the prison authorities was that many of the newly literate inmates were now trying to read newspapers and story books. “They were even engaging in some basic talk on ethics and moral values, discipline and punctuality and many have expressed their interest to participate more in this literacy programme. Their enthusiasm and zeal to learn more is really heartwarming.” The course module is appropriate for the adult inmates and the programme is now proceeding in full steam.

The success of the programme has led to its expansion, with permission granted to extend the initiative to 18 more correctional homes across West Bengal.

“As it extends its reach, this programme is bound to reshape the future for countless individuals, as we all know that learning and education can open doors to a totally different world.”

Till now women have not been covered in the first phase; hopefully in the second phase, the prison authorities will extend this programme to women inmates too, Mehta added.