NCERT-designed curriculum for prison literacy

Both technology and life skills would be integral components of the curriculum designed by the NCERT to bring 1,29,603 illiterate jail inmates under the National Literacy Mission. The innovative curriculum,aimed at their rehabilitation,will not only teach them to read and write but also how to use computer and mobile phone. The Tihar Jail in the Capital has been chosen for the pilot project. The HRD Ministry will review the outcome of the programme before it is implemented it in the rest of the jails across the country.

In 33 jails across the country,the percentage of illiterate inmates stands at 33.68,which is higher than the national average of 26 per cent. Daman amp; Diu has the maximum number of illiterate inmates at 67.44 per cent,followed by Punjab at 54.81 per cent. Kerala has the least percentage at 18.54. For Delhi,the figure is 37.44 per cent. In 2009,at the UNESCO conference on Higher Education,a special reference was made with regards to including prison inmates in the efforts to provide universal education.