Ninth, Matric exams: Around two dozen convicts eager to make their mark

Authorities encourage inmates at central jail to get an education

KARACHI:

The courtroom at the Central Jail, Karachi has been transformed into an examination hall for 25 inmates who are keen to complete their Matriculation degree while serving their sentences.

Dressed in casual attire, convicted and under-trial prisoners sit on the floor and appear in the Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK)'s 2016 examinations, which conclude on April 21.

The oldest candidate appearing in ninth and Matric (arts), Akhter Zareen Afridi, is bent on completing his Matriculation while he serves his 25-year sentence.



"I have been here for the last six years after being convicted of smuggling narcotics,"Afridi told The Express Tribune after solving his paper on Saturday.



Like Afridi, there are 22 other prisoners who are taking the exam as private candidates in the arts group while the remaining two, juvenile convicts not present at the same premises, are giving their Matric exam in the sciences group.

"I am happy that I am getting a chance to educate myself," said 45-year-old Liaquat Ali. The convicted felon said high marks in the ninth grade exams encouraged him to appear for Matriculation.

Asif Khokhar, a 30-year-old under-trial prisoner for the last four years, is the youngest among the candidates. "I passed four papers in ninth grade and failed one. I am reappearing for that subject and will try hard to clear all the papers this time," said Khokhar.



Closer to freedom

Prisoners are more interested in appearing for board examinations since they get a six-month remission of their sentence if they pass, explained Central Jail Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kazi Nazir Ahmed.

"We encourage them to study and appear for examinations," said Ahmed, adding that they motivate the prisoners by brining teachers onboard to help them as well as to teach each other.

To enroll these candidates with BSEK, jail representatives submit their registration and examination forms with the help of a board representative assigned to the jail, explained the prisoners' teacher at the jail, Shahid Iqbal. He takes classes every day from 8:30am to 2:30pm.

Iqbal said the board does not charge the prisoners, whether under-trial or convicted ones, any fee for the exams, adding that they are not even charged for the forms.

Iqbal, who has been teaching prisoners since the last 38 years, has witnessed the gradual rise in the number of prisoners interested in giving their exams. "If 25 of them are appearing [this year], it means they can teach hundreds of their colleagues next year," he claimed.

Explaining the enrolment  procedure at the jail, he said new prisoners get to know about the opportunity through word of mouth, as well as when he announces the procedure barrack to barrack at the time of form submissions every year. "I collect the documents and pictures from their families and submit the forms," he explained. The majority of prisoners are enrolled in the arts and general groups since they appear as private candidates and it is not easy to conduct their practical exams inside the jail [for sciences group].

"In some exceptional cases, prisoners are sent with proper security to the nearest centre for their practical exam [in case they are allowed to appear in the sciences group]," he shared.

Zahid Ahmed Khan, centre controller officer of BSEK, who is also the jail centre's head since the last eight years, believes that "If these men are not given a chance to study, they will never become better citizens and be completely rehabilitated after their release ".

Giving details, he said an average of 20 prisoners appear in ninth and Matric exams every year for the last eight years, and the rate of clearing all five papers for each grade is around 60%.

"Some of them clear three or four papers in one go but we always ask them to reappear and keep trying for better results," he said.

Sharing future plans, the SSP revealed that they are working with Allama Iqbal Open University to enroll and teach prisoners through the varsity's virtual education system.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th,  2016.