TAXILA: In order to bring back prisoners into the mainstream and rehabilitate them through the medium of knowledge and education, National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) in collaboration with the district literacy department opened an adult literacy and non-formal basic education centre in the district jail of Attock on Saturday.

Assistant Commissioner Headquarters Zarmina Wazir inaugurated the centre along with chief executive district education authority Malik Mohsin Abbas, NCHD deputy director Shehzad Hussain Hashmi, jail superintendent Farrukh Rashid and others.Ms Wazir said education was a basic right of every citizen and the district administration was utilising all available resources to provide this facility to the inhabitants of the district. She said literacy centres in jails will play a pivotal role in character building of the prisoners so as to make them a productive member of society after their release. She urged the prisoners to get education at the centre and prove to be responsible citizens after their release.

She directed the jail administration to provide all necessary facilities at the centre.

Mr Hashmi said the ‘Literacy for jail project’ through its skill development programmes would make the prisoners useful citizens after their release.

“Teachers for the centres have been appointed from within the prisoners having higher qualifications and they have been given proper training by the literacy department.”

He said daily two-hour sessions for three months would be conducted for the prisoners and after completion of the course their evaluation would be carried out.

Mr Abbas said the literacy centres were being set up in order to bring the prisoners into the mainstream and rehabilitate them.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2021