Dressed up in the traditional black hats and gowns, 55 students are eagerly awaiting their convocation on December 3, 2011. So what’s new you may ask.
Dressed up in the traditional black hats and gowns, 55 students are eagerly awaiting their convocation on December 3, 2011. So what’s new you may ask.
Well, all the 55 graduating students are inmates of various jails in the state. This is for the first time in the history of Gujarat, that a convocation is being held in prison. The convocation to be held in Sabarmati Jail will award diplomas to 55 various inmates who cleared their exams for the Post Graduate Diploma in Value Education and Spirituality programme. The one year programme was exclusively for male inmates. The diploma being offered by the Annamalai Open University has been sponsored by the Brahmakumaris, who conducted it free for the prisoners. Of the 73 inmates who joined the course, 56 appeared for the final exams.
Incidentally, several Muslim prisoners (9) also showed interest in the programme. In fact, the topper is Safdar Nagori, the ideologue of Student’s Islamic Movement in India (SIMI) and a key accused in the Ahmedabad bomb blasts. Nagori scored 87.20%. Atul Patel of the Patan rape case came second with 86.20% while Saiyad Razak, another key accused in the bomb blast came third.
Talking about the course, PC Thakur, ADGP, prisons said that it covered the basic features of all religion. “In fact after the course, I have seen a dramatic change in the prisoners who took the course,” said Thakur. He said several other jails like Tihar and the ones in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have now shown interest in the course.
For the course, inmates from eight jails across the state including Ahmedabad were brought to Sabarmati jail. “The exam consisted of four different theory papers. The inmates also had to present a thesis on any subject of their choice but with spirituality as its basis,” said Brahmakumar Nandini, the regional co-ordinator of distance education programme. Fifteen teachers were involved in teaching and the inmates had to compulsorily attend at least 12-days of class. The inmates who participated in the programme were in the age group of 24 to 60 years.
The jail plans to continue the programme for 2011-12 and so far 116 inmates have shown interest in it.
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