Inadequate correctional facilities plague jails

For jailed convicts accustomed to a life of crime and deviance, reintegrating into a decorous society is a task requiring stupendous perseverance, even more so for inmates serving sentences in Punjab’s jails, who in the absence of behavior correction programs, leave prison cells only to return to their earlier offensives with reinvigorated resilience.

Where nations across the globe heavily invest in the education and instruction of prisoners serving terms inside jails in an attempt to prepare them for a new life of propriety and dignity after their release, inmates within Punjab’s largest jail network facing a variety of charges are denied basic didactic coaching and skills training, leading human behavior experts to deduce that the life of freedom awaiting most outcasts beyond the threshold of the jail premises would be far more unforgiving than their time behind bars.

“Until or unless the prisoners in jails are given adequate counselling and training, they can never lead normal lives after their release. But unfortunately, no such coaching system exists in the jails of Punjab for prisoners who are denied a chance at becoming better citizens. Therefore, in most cases, these prisoners return to their criminal activities soon after leaving jail,” expressed Dr Shahzad Tahir, a Professor of Psychology, who advised the government to introduce reform houses within jails, which conduct weekly lectures for inculcating moral values among inmates.

According to sources obtained by The Express Tribune, a negligible number of correctional facilities exist across 43 jails in Punjab which despite holding more than 55,000 prisoners including 52,000 men, 1,000 women, 700 children, 3,800 accused, 1,400 convicts and more than 400 death row prisoners, have only 32 teachers available for giving basic ethical instruction to prisoners or their children.

Moreover, the nugatory didactic and vocational training that prisoners receive in these jails is either funded by a private non-governmental organization (NGO), a company or a welfare organization. This is evident in the fact that ever since Masjid/Maktab schools were closed in jails, the only kind of coaching available to inmates was technical and was offered by companies like Toyota however, the efficacy of such schemes was dubious in nature.

Read Govt urged to bring back fishermen from Indian jails

Unsurprisingly, even when some religious and ethical training was given in jails, a shortage of teachers prevented any serious improvements in the intellectual and social development of inmates since 40 per cent of the posts for Arabic, ethics and psychology teachers were reportedly vacant.

“The scope of our work is limited, therefore, we only offer coaching to children and young girls in the hopes of improving their future prospects,” said Syeda Farah Hashmi, a teacher working at a jail.

Given the dire absence of teaching facilities in jails, some prisoners who aspire to achieve erudition study on their own and complete their intermediate, bachelor’s or master’s degrees through the Allama Iqbal Open University.

“The sentence of any prisoner who receives worldly or religious education is waived by 15 days to two years,” informed Inspector General Prisons Punjab Mian Farooq Nazir.

Speaking to The Express Tribune on the matter, Special Secretary Home Department Fazalur Rehman said, “Many NGOs in jails are running schools offering courses of matriculation, intermediate, bachelors, masters and Quranic education. We plan to introduce a correctional facility in jails soon.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2024.