The Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (Tevta) Sindh has failed to start its planned vocational and skills training program for prisoners across Sindh.
Sources in Tevta told Business Recorder that in September 2007 the authority had planned to initiate vocational and skills training program for prisoners from the first month of current calendar year.
"Due to lack of interest in the project on part of the concerned officials, the authority is facing difficulties to launch the project to facilitate prisoners despite lapse of about two months", they added.
They said that although RS 27.568 millions has been allocated for the project by the provincial government in the current fiscal year's budget, but the sanctioned amount has not been released to authority, that causing inordinate delay in execution of the project.
They said that Tevta has completed all legal process and documentation for the project and waiting for go-ahead signal for last five months. The growing poverty has compelled large number to commit crime, they said.
To contain the growing crimes' rate in the society, immediate attention on the socio-economic aspect of the crimes needed to be paid, they said. For the purpose the government had planned to impart vocational and skills training to inmates amid at to rehabilitate them as responses citizen besides supporting their families with healthy earnings, the sources elaborated.
There are 20 jails with 20,000 prisoners in Sindh being imparted different vocational training in unorganised manner , they maintained. Therefore, the authority has decided to start an effective and organised vocational and skills training program for the inmates, they said and added that the training would be imparted in construction, agriculture, textile, cosmetology and Information Technology.
"Around 3700 prisoners will be trained in initial stage and if the project proved result-oriented and fruitful then next phases of the programme would also be carried out', they added.