Sindh govt launches education program for prisoners’ children

KARACHI: The Sindh government has launched a pioneering program to provide educational support for children of convicted prisoners, to ease the educational burden of the family and to provide the children a healthy lifestyle.

The initiative was announced on the occasion of the Karachi Central Prison launch, during the ceremony, Education Minister Sardar Ali Shah and Prisons Minister Hasan Ali Zardari announced that 4,684 children of convicted inmates across Sindh would avail of educational support from primary to university level.

This initiative, a collaborative project between the education and prisons departments and Paigham-e-Pakistan, aims to prevent these children from being deprived of education because of the circumstances of their parents.

Minister Sardar Shah stressed that children should not suffer because of their parents’ actions, thus it is the responsibility of the state to ensure them an education.

Sindh wants to set an example of giving full educational support either in government or private institutions. The program has been initiated, children enrolled with admission letters are 100, while data collection of 2,638 is ongoing.

Moreover, among these, educational and vocational training for juvenile inmates and providing financial assistance to families of convicted prisoners so they feel free from economic exploitation are also parts of the program.

Prisons Minister Zardari noted this initiative is going to educate the children and, in turn, rehabilitate entire families, changing the whole setup of the prison into reform centers.