Daily Times

A Literacy Center was inaugurated in District Central Jail in Dera Ismail Khan on Monday with the support of National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) to make the prisoners literate.

The center was established on the special instructions of Inspector General of Prisons Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Saadat Hasan Khan.

Chief guest Superintendent District Central Jail Dera Samiullah Khan cut the ribbon and inaugurated the center in a simple and dignified ceremony. Assistant Director NCHD and focal person Umar Saqaaf Khattak and a number of Jail inmates also attended the ceremony.

Speaking on the occasion, Samiullah Khan said that acquiring knowledge was the duty of everyone. He said the prisoners would be provided education at the Center to make them useful citizens of the society after their release from prison. He said with the establishment of Literacy Center, the acquisition of knowledge has become easier for the prison inmates.

He said the prison administration will fully cooperate with the NCHD to make this project successful and added that all steps would be taken to make the jail inmates get maximum benefit from this project.

Assistant Director NCHD Umar Saqaaf Khattak said that this project had been started in District Central Jail Dera Ismail Khan for a period of 5 months in which the jail inmates would be taught one mathematics book and three books of Urdu. At the end of this period, the certificates will also be distributed among the successful candidates. Under this project, inmates of the age of 18 to 45 years will be able to get benefit of this project, he told.

Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Secretary Information and Public Relations Arshad Khan visited Peshawar Press Club (PPC) and reviewed renovation, repair work while expressed annoyance over delay in completion of the work.

He said that PPC is the highest organization of journalists in KP province and under the direction of Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, work is being done on a comprehensive plan for renovation of PPC and improvement of facilities. He said provincial government is taking pragmatic steps to promote journalism in the province and providing all necessary facilities to journalists in performing their professional duties.

He said payment of special grant to press club, release of scholarships in journalism department for members of press club, increase in endowment fund for welfare of journalists are important steps in this regard.