PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
The inmates of the district Jail Haridwar will now be able to get the benefit of Higher Education. On Wednesday, the Jail administration of Haridwar entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Uttarakhand Open University (UOU) for providing education opportunities to the jail inmates.
Under the agreement, the university will set up a special study centre in the Haridwar Jail campus. In the centre, the inmates serving sentences under different terms in the Jail will be able to receive Higher Education.
Speaking on the occasion the vice chancellor of the UOU, Navin Chandra Lohani said that receiving higher education is the right of every citizen of the country and the university endeavours to ensure this. He said that the inmates of the Haridwar jail will be provided the benefit of higher education under the distance education programme. The VC expressed confidence that the initiative will usher in a new and positive change in the life of the inmates and they will be able to get into the mainstream of the society after their release from the Jail.
The senior jail superintendent of Haridwar Jail Manoj Arya said that receiving education is the basic right of every citizen. He said that providing higher education to the deprived section of the society is a major challenge. Arya expressed confidence that the study centre of the university will prove to be of immense importance to the inmates and they will move forward in life with a positive mind-set.
The registrar of the university Khemraj Bhatt said that the UOU is committed to provide higher education to the deprived sections of the society and those with special needs.
The assistant regional director of the university, Brijesh Bankoti said that the inmates will be able to take admission in various programmes of the Uttarakhand Open University in the special study centre in the Haridwar Jail.
Expressing happiness at inking of the MoU, the Higher Education minister Dhan Singh Rawat said that the initiative will prove to be a medium of hope and rehabilitation of prisoners. He added that after receiving higher education the prisoners will be able to develop their skill set and return to the mainstream of the society.
