Inmates enamoured with studies
– Achyut Regmi
The inmates at the country’s largest prison at Jagannath Dewal are found drawn towards studies. The prison is spread on an area of 42 ropanis. Currently 650 prisoners are studying in three schools being operated within the prison.
The Inmates’ Basic School is operated at the Bhadra Prison, the Women Prisoners’ Basic School is run at the Women’s Prison and the Jagannath Secondary School is in operation at the Central Prison. Inmates’ Basic School runs classes from 1 to 8, the Women Prisoners’ Basic School operates classes from 1 to 5 and the Jagannath Secondary School runs classes from 1 to 12.
The Jagannath Secondary School has 325 students, the Inmates’ Basic School has 263 students and the Women Prisoners’ Basic School has 62 students. Jagannath Secondary School was founded 57 years back at the country’s oldest prison (105 years old) for the first time to give education to the prisoners.
Similarly, the Women Prisoners’ Basic School was established 19 years ago in 2057 BS. The teachers who teach at these schools are from among the prisoners themselves. Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Education Department pays their salary. Besides, the regular salary, there is also the provision of remitting the prison term of the teachers by two months for one year of teaching service.
Those people doing time in prison after conviction by court are called ‘inmates’ while those against who cases are in process in court but not yet convicted are called ‘detainee’.
The provision for prison was started in Nepal in 1971 BS. The Sadar Jail or Central Jail is the country’s first prison.
Although education up to class 12 is available at the Central Jail, there is no such facility if an inmate wanted to study above that level.
Jailer Laxmi Prasad Banskota said that an arrangement has been made to sit for the exam inside the jail to the students studying above +2 level.
He said, "Students studying above +2 level should read themselves inside the jail, but the jail administrative has made arrangement of exam for them."
As per the study of the Jail Management Division, though the central jail has the capacity to accommodate 1,400 prisoners, there are now 3,308 prisoners including 11 minors.
At a time when jails across the country have been witnessing more poisoners than their capacity, the government is going to construct the central jail with four buildings with a capacity to accommodate 7,000 prisoners in Trishuli of Nuwakot.
The government in recent period has forwarded a policy of open jail. Activities to construct security building, barrack and administrative building have been forwarded to construct open jail at Ganapur of Banke.
According to the Division, there are 74 prisons in 72 districts across the nation. There are two jails each in Kathmandu and Dang districts while Bhaktapur, Bara, Dhanusha, East Nawalparasi and East Rukum have no jail.
Out of 74 jails, 53 prisons have women prisoners too. There are more than 25,000 prisoners across the nation, according to the Division. The capacity of the jails across the nation is only to accommodate 15,466 prisoners.
