Thousands of inmates getting vocational training

KABUL (Pajhwok): More than 2,000 prisoners are receiving vocational training in prisons across Afghanistan, the Jails Regulatory Authority chief said on Monday.

In an interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, Maulvi Mohammad Yousuf Mestari said prisoners were being provided learning opportunities.

The prisoners were being trained on carpentry, embroidery, farming techniques, steel work, carpet weaving, tailoring and other vocations in jails, he added.

Mestari explained that a number of prisoners, including women, had already graduated from vocational training programmes. They have been given sewing machines and clothes. But JRA needs more sewing machines for prisoners.

Several prisoners have also been afforded the opportunity to get training on agriculture, according to the official, who said efforts were underway to continue the programme this year too.

The training is being offered by prisoners with vocational expertise. Illiterate inmates are taught a special curriculum involving religious and scientific subjects.

Mestari added studying religious and scientific subjects in prisons was mandatory, but participation in professional training depended on merit. All inmates must sit a test at the end of each training session. The successful inmates are promoted to higher classes.

He said hiring professionals from amongst the prisoners was a priority for JRA but in the case of need, the government appointed trainers from outside.

Hameedullah, a prisoner learning metalworking at the Pul-i-Charkhi jail, told Pajhwok they were trained by professional instructors.

He said: “Insha Allah (God willing), I will adopt this profession I learn here and work for myself, I regret what I did in the past and want to lead a good life in the future.”

He has been learning metalworking for the past six months. He knows how to make beds, cabinets and chairs.

Ahmad, another prisoner, said he had learned the profession of tin-smith from his instructor. Now he teaches other inmates the skills he has learnt.

He sells the items he makes in prison with the help of officials in the market and earns an income for himself.

The government arranges the required tools and items that Ahmad uses. The two sides share the income, with Ahmad getting 40 percent and the government 60 percent.

He urged other prisoners to register themselves at such vocational centres and learn different skills.

The JRA head says about 16,000 individuals, including 1,000 women, are currently in jails across Afghanistan.

aw/mud