NCHD sets up literacy centres in 99 prisons

Aims to make prisoners model citizens in the future

ISLAMABAD: National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) will establish Adult Literary Centers in all 99 jails of the country under 'Literacy for Jail Project' to educate prisoners in the jails.

Talking to APP, NCHD official, Rai Riaz Hussain said that the 'Literacy for Jail Project' to educate prisoners in the jails is a mile stone project along with skill development programmes to make them useful citizens after their release from jails on completion of their term.

He informed that at present eight Adult Literacy Centers were functional in Jails of Kasur and Toba Tek Singh while others were in progress, adding NCHD had planned to establish such centers across the country.

He expressed his opinion that education is the antidote of terrorism, extremism, violence and gender disparities while NCHD is determined to achieve 90% literacy rate in the country. To question, he said that in September 2016 NCHD launched 'Non-formal Education Project' in collaboration with Japan International Cooperation Association (JICA) in Islamabad Capital Territory.

Under the project, he said, 12 non-formal schools were established for the age group of eight to 14 years.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2018.