CHENNAI: While the Prison Department provides financial and welfare support to released prisoners, many struggle to reconnect with their families and adapt to social life after years of separation. Addressing this critical gap, the Madras School of Social Work (MSSW), Chennai, has partnered with the Tamil Nadu Prisoners Welfare Council (TNPWC) to launch a first-of-its-kind course on Postgraduate Diploma in Social Reintegration, dedicated exclusively to prisoner rehabilitation.
A Memorandum of Understanding towards this was recently signed. The one-year diploma will be rolled out from July in the forthcoming academic year, with an initial intake of 25 to 30 students. Designed at the request of the Prison Department, the programme aims to create a trained cadre of professionals who can support released prisoners in reintegrating with their families and society in a structured, humane, and sustainable manner.
The Prison Department sought MSSW’s academic leadership to design a curriculum that responds to real-world reintegration challenges faced by prisoners, particularly emotional alienation, family conflicts, social exclusion, and lack of community acceptance.
The programme is open to graduates interested in correctional and rehabilitative work, as well as professionals already engaged in prisoner welfare, NGOs, correctional institutions, and volunteer-based interventions.
Speaking about the initiative, MSSW Principal S Raja Samuel emphasised that rehabilitation is incomplete without social and familial reintegration. “This programme is designed to equip professionals with the skills and sensitivity needed to help former prisoners rebuild relationships, regain self-worth, and reintegrate into society with dignity,” he said.
Experts from the Tamil Nadu Prisoners Welfare Council, Academy of Prison and Correctional Administration (APCA), and MSSW faculty will jointly deliver the course.