by Irfan Mahar 10 November 2022
“I have often reflected upon the new vistas that reading opened to me. I knew right there in prison that reading had changed forever the course of my life. As I see it today, the ability to read awoke in me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive.”
Malcolm X
Education keeps much importance for every human on earth, without education humans psychologically are considered blind. Therefore, it is the right of every human on earth to get an education and a duty to spread it. In the current globalized world, governments must provide educational facilities to their people even if they are in prison. Education in prison programs is a prodigious initiative every country should introduce. Such as, the Bolivian Government has introduced a great and appreciable initiative named “Books Behind Bars” through which prisoners could reduce their punishment by reading books. Some other countries such as the U.S have also introduced education initiatives in prisons. Prison education will also help prisoners to utilize their free time productively by reading books. It will increase their knowledge and understanding to become good citizens and contribute to the betterment of society and the country. In this regard, Anne Lamott said “For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die”.
Moreover, imprisonment is traumatic, even if one serves a relatively short sentence, when incarcerated individuals are released, they face challenges like employment discrimination, fractured families, and poverty. In this regard, the significant personal benefits of prison education include increased personal income, lower unemployment, greater political engagement and volunteerism, and improved health outcomes. Ghani Khan, said that reading is a civilized form of listening, when one listens in a civilized way, he/she gets many benefits from learning productive things. Moreover, Ben Okri Said “Reading is an act of civilization; it’s one of the greatest acts of civilization because it takes the free raw material of the mind and builds castles of possibilities.” In this way, prisoners could get inspiration and influence to lessen their disappointments, depression, and sense of guilt. It will inspire them to become good and civilized citizens after release from prison.
In countries where the crime rate is very high, and the literacy rate is very low such nations must take this initiative very seriously to their people literate and reduce the crime and recidivism rates. A study by the Department of Policy Studies at the University of California at Los Angeles found that “a $1 million investment in incarceration will prevent about 350 crimes, while that same investment in prison education will prevent more than 600 crimes.” There are many inside benefits of prison education such as it breaks down racial and ethnic barriers that are often a cause of tension and violence. As John Green said that “Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.”
So, education has been considered the best and most authentic way of learning and gaining knowledge for a long time. But over time emergence of new technologies and developments have transformed and added other ways of gaining knowledge such as watching documentaries, movies, videos and listening to audio which is available through the internet. Therefore, one can gain knowledge through multiple possible sources whatever source is available and possible for a person to get knowledge. Many countries in Asia and Africa continents where crime rates are high should also take such kind of education initiatives in prison. However, most of the countries of these continents are developing and facing multiple social, economic, religious, political, and financial problems. The literacy rate of these countries is low and also facing various educational problems because of the lack of resources and interest and many other inefficiencies as well as involvements of multiple interest groups and entities who do want the spread of education. Therefore, it will be very difficult for such countries to introduce prison education programs, but their attention and some serious steps could make it possible with little budget spent on the program. But, in return, they could get many benefits by spreading education to their prisoners through such initiatives.
The writer is PhD Scholar at the Department of Defense and Strategic Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, Pakistan.