Currently, a secondary, a lower secondary and a primary school are in operation at the Central Jail, the Bhadra Prison and the Women´s Prison, respectively at Tripureshwar.[break]
Two schools, a lower secondary and a primary one, are in operation at the Nakhkhu Jail in Lalitpur. These schools were brought into operation only a few months back.
One hundred and seventy-two prisoners are studying at the Jagannath Secondary School inside the Central Jail, 100 prisoners at the Bandi Bikas Lower Secondary School inside the Bhadra Jail and 40 inmates at the Women Inmates Primary School at the Women´s Prison.
Apart from these prisons, schools are also operated in Lalitpur and Birgunj prisons. Out of the 34 inmates who sat for the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examinations last year, 33 passed the exams. The teachers for schools run inside the prisons are appointed from among the inmates themselves.
The internal administration of the prison concerned makes this arrangement. The government only allocates the quotas for teachers and their salary.
A majority of the students studying in schools run inside the prisons are aged 30 to 35 years. But there are also old inmate students as old as 60 years.
It is difficult running school inside the prison due to the lack of space, said Indraman Gopali, the Headmaster of the Jagannath Secondary School.
The prison is so overcrowded that the inmates are also kept in the facilities where schools are run.
Despite all the inconveniences, the inmates are so eager to pursue studies that they have demanded for opening higher secondary school also. They have requested in writing for this to the authorities concerned, including the Ministry of Home Affairs, Gopali said.
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