Moalims

Islamabad—Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) has upgraded existing facilities in jails throughout the country providing free education to prisoners.
Process of taking admissions has been simplified. Prospectus and others allied material were being sent to Jail authorities free of cost, enabling the prisoners to take admission in the current semester till March 4, said Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Shahid Siddiqui.
The University has prepared a comprehensive plan for facilitating the prisoners under jails’ reforms’ plan, being pursued under the directions of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
The plan is aimed at bringing maximum number of prisoners in the educational net, enabling them to become useful citizen of the society after completing their imprisonment.
Dr Shahid Siddiqui said, a transparent and viable procedure has been worked out for the provision of educational facilities to the prisoners. It has been decided that Education from Matric to BA level will be made free for all prisoners with other incentives.
The proposed plan includes a detailed procedure of tutorial meetings, workshops and examination to be held in jails. It was also decided that each jail will be declared as ‘Prisoner Study Centre’.
In order to make the scheme more effective, practical and problem-free, it was also decided that Jail Superintendent will act as Coordinator and he will be paid a reasonable remuneration for this purpose on semester-wise basis.
Teacher to be nominated in jails will act as Assistant to Coordinator and he will also be paid remuneration. He will also perform duty of Centre Superintendent during the Examination, to be conducted within jail’s premises.
According to Zahid Majeed, University’s focal person, the officers concerned will make a stamp bearing the words “Only for Prisoners” and affix that stamp on all those admission Forms which will be issued to Jail authorities for the prisoners.

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