Education is a vital component of any society’s development. The Sindh Education Foundation (SEF) aims to promote access to quality education for the marginalized children and communities across the province. In line with this vision, SEF has initiated a small scale intervention for juvenile delinquents – one of the most vulnerable groups who are in dire need of educational access.
The Sindh Education Foundation launched the Jail School Project for the juvenile inmates on the 12th of December, 2011 at the Central Jail, Sukkur. Over a hundred people were in attendance which included government officials, police representatives, media personnel, civil society members and senior management as well as regional staff of the Sindh Education Foundation.
Mr. Ayaz Soomro, the Sindh Minister for Law and Prisons, chaired the launch event for the first ever formal educational facility in a prison. Mr. Soomro commended the dedication and untiring efforts of Prof. Anita Ghulam Ali (Managing Director, Sindh Education Foundation, Government of Sindh) in improving the quality and outreach of education in Sindh. He stated that the initiative of providing a proper educational curriculum was needed and much appreciated and called for the Sindh Education Foundation to open more schools in other prisons across the province. The minister said that the prison was supposed to reform the criminal element of society and there was no better way for reformation than education.
Prof. Anita Ghulam Ali, through a video message, talked to the juvenile inmates and urged them to avail this opportunity to better themselves through the benefits of education. She stated that the SEF will do its utmost to provide quality education to them and to do so is providing all facilities including school bags and books for the children. Furthermore, she said that she hoped that the children learn while in this project and become not only a boon for their family and society but also for their country. She even encouraged the children to write to the Foundation in regards to their educational progress and said that SEF will respond to their letters and highlight their efforts in its publications.
Jail superintendent Qazi Nazir Ahmed said that the jails needed an initiative like this where the children could get a chance to learn and to develop. He stated that lack of education and ignorance was the root cause of each and every ill in the society and the first step to rehabilitate the prisoners is education. He said that he is expecting to see really positive outcomes resulting from this initiative.
Mr. Aziz Kabani (Director, Sindh Education Foundation) stated that education was a fundamental right of every child and that the children in prison had as much right to an education as anyone else. He said that it would be a great misgiving if these children are not provided the same level of education as afforded to others and we need to ensure that this does not happen. He said that SEF has initiated the project with the hope that when these children are released from prison, they take the light of education and use it to benefit their society. He stated also that SEF has plans for opening other schools amongst prisons across the province as per Minister Ayaz Soomro’s request.
The Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Police – Sukkur Region, Dr. Ameer Ahmad Sheikh stated that education is essential for the reformation of prisoners present in the jail. He expressed appreciation for the Sindh Education Foundation’s commitment to education especially for marginalized groups. He said that this step towards educating the oft ignored juvenile delinquents has potential to go a long way and that he looks forward to opening schools in other prisons as well in collaboration with SEF.
Mr. Adnan Mobeen (Senior Manager, SEF) gave a brief introduction on SEF’s initiatives and explained the project’s curriculum in detail to the audience. The MOU was signed between SEF and the Superintendent Sukkur Jail and then presented to Minister Ayaz Soomro.
Children who were interviewed at the occasion responded that this was a great prospect for them to educate themselves. They said that they were very excited about this project and could use this opportunity for self development and rejoin the society at an even better standing than what they possessed when they went into prison.
