TEVTA to expand training to 25 jails

Chairman says the aim is to enable prisoners to earn a respectable living for their families

LAHORE: Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) Chairman Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that TEVTA will extend its courses for prisoners from 15 jails to 25 jails.

Prison Minister Ahmad Yar Hanjra and Jails IG Farooq Nazir called upon TEVTA Chairman Irfan Qaiser Sheikh at the authority’s secretariat on Thursday. Sheikh said that TEVTA was already providing training in 10 different trades at 15 jails across Punjab. It was decided that these courses will be provided in 10 more jails to increase the total number to 25, he added.



Sheikh said that the authority provided training to 8,000 prisoners in one year whereas 15,000 prisoners will be trained after enhancing the capacity. He said that developed countries trained their prisoners and made them live as respectable citizens after serving their jail term.

The chairman also observed that the Punjab chief minister’s vision of prisoners getting respectable earnings for their families as well as playing their roles in the development of economy of the country.

He said that courses related to sports and industry will be held in Sialkot, textile in Faisalabad, cutlery in Gujrat and other trades in Lahore jails. He added that meeting decided that prisoners would also prepare products in these trades and these would later be sold.



Jails IG Farooq Nazir said that skilled people never remain unemployed. He added that TEVTA and the Prisons Department were working on making inmates respectable citizens once they are reintegrated into society. He added that these courses would be made mandatory to complete for those prisoners whose tenure of punishment would be completed during the training.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20^th, 2017.