With the State government giving its nod to start the first government Industrial Training Institute (ITI) in the Tiruchi Central Prison to offer a slew of vocational courses for the convicts, the Prison Department has planned to admit inmates from other Central Jails in the State for these courses.
It would be in addition to the select group of convicts lodged in the Tiruchi Central Prison to be handpicked for the ITI courses. The decision to admit convicts serving long terms in other Central Prisons in the State to these courses at the jail here was taken at a top-level meeting in Chennai recently.
Prison authorities told The Hindu that the move to admit convicts from other prisons was because of the rule that candidates should be aged below 40 and should have completed SSLC or class 8 for admission into the courses.
As the number of convicts in Tiruchi Central Prison who meet the requirement for the courses was less, it was decided to enrol interested convicts from other Central Jails in the State. The identified prisoners from other jails will be shifted to Tiruchi Prison to enable them pursue the course of their choice.
The State accounts for nine central prisons located at Puzhal in Chennai, Vellore, Tiruchi, Madurai, Salem, Cuddalore, Tirunelveli, Salem, and Coimbatore. The intake for the five vocational courses to be offered by the government ITI at Tiruchi Central Prison will be 168.
Courses to be offered will be welder, computer operator, and programming assistant, cutting and sewing, fitter, and electrician. While fitter and electrician courses are of two-year duration, the remaining were one-year courses.
Prison authorities said they had identified a little over 20 convicts in Tiruchi Central Prison who had completed class 10 and within the age of 40. The department has selected the area where the ITI would function with a team of tutors to handle sessions for the handpicked convicts every day. Tiruchi Central Prison is the first jail in the State identified by the government to launch the ITI as another rehabilitation initiative.
