Initiating jailbirds into the world of letters: Kerala Literacy Mission holds exams for prisoners 

Around 300 prisoners lodged in various jails across the state attempted literacy examinations conducted by the State Literacy Mission on Saturday as part of the ‘Jail Jyothi’
A prisoner waits for the Jail Jyothi literacy examination organised by the Kerala State Literacy Mission at Central Jail in Thiruvananthapuram | MANU R MAVELIL
A prisoner waits for the Jail Jyothi literacy examination organised by the Kerala State Literacy Mission at Central Jail in Thiruvananthapuram | MANU R MAVELIL

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Around 300 prisoners lodged in various jails across the state attempted literacy examinations conducted by the State Literacy Mission on Saturday as part of the ‘Jail Jyothi’ project aimed at wiping out illiteracy from the state’s prisons. Out of the 297 prisoners who attempted the literacy examination, 121 convicts, including seven women, were from various jails in Thiruvananthapuram. While 59 inmates of the Central Prison, Poojappura, attempted the examination, the number of convicts who appeared for the exam from the women’s jail, special jail and district jail were seven, 30 and 25 respectively.

Two out of nine convicts who attempted the examination from Ernakulam district were women. The candidates from Poojappura Central Prison included two convicts from Bihar. While 13 convicts attempted the examination from Kottayam district, the number of prisoners who took the examination from Thrissur, Palakkad and Malappuram were 25, 29 and 30 respectively. As many as 15 prisoners from Kannur, 33 from Kasargod and 22 from Wayanad also attempted the first examination conducted as part of the project. The exam consisted of three sections dealing with reading, writing and arithmetic. A candidate would need to score 30 out of 100 marks to be eligible for pass.

The minimum pass mark for reading, writing and arithmetic was nine out of 30, 12 out of 40 and nine out of 30 respectively. According to the Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services rules, all illiterate prisoners should be given the opportunity to read and write. The project was jointly implemented by the state literacy mission and the Prisons Department. As part of the project, 60 prisoners had earl ier achi eved Class IV equivalency.

The examination conducted at Central Prison, Poojappura, was launched by B Pradeep, Prisons DIG (South), by handing over the question paper to 75-year-old Chandran, who was the seniormost candidate.AROUND 300 prisoners lodged in various jails across the state attempted literacy examinations conducted by the State Literacy Mission on Saturday as part of the ‘Jail Jyothi’ project aimed at wiping out illiteracy from the state’s prisons. Out of the 297 prisoners who attempted the literacy examination, 121 convicts, including seven women, were from various jails in Thiruvananthapuram. While 59 inmates of the Central Prison, Poojappura, attempted the examination, the number of convicts who appeared for the exam from the women’s jail, special jail and district jail were seven, 30 and 25 respectively.

Two out of nine convicts who attempted the examination from Ernakulam district were women. The candidates from Poojappura Central Prison included two convicts from Bihar. While 13 convicts attempted the examination from Kottayam district, the number of prisoners who took the examination from Thrissur, Palakkad and Malappuram were 25, 29 and 30 respectively. As many as 15 prisoners from Kannur, 33 from Kasargod and 22 from Wayanad also attempted the first examination conducted as part of the project. The exam consisted of three sections dealing with reading, writing and arithmetic. A candidate would need to score 30 out of 100 marks to be eligible for pass.

The minimum pass mark for reading, writing and arithmetic was nine out of 30, 12 out of 40 and nine out of 30 respectively. According to the Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services rules, all illiterate prisoners should be given the opportunity to read and write. The project was jointly implemented by the state literacy mission and the Prisons Department. As part of the project, 60 prisoners had earl ier achi eved Class IV equivalency. The examination conducted at Central Prison, Poojappura, was launched by B Pradeep, Prisons DIG (South), by handing over the question paper to 75-year-old Chandran, who was the seniormost candidate.

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