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The Sri Lanka government together with the private sector will commence a computer-training programme for inmates at the Pallekele open prison near Kandy in central Sri Lanka. The programme will start on August 16 along with other programmes organised to mark the Golden Jubilee of the Open Prison, which houses over 500 inmates, and the oldest of such prisons in Asia. The Internations, a computer education institute offers the free computer training to inmates equipping them with a skill to reintegrate to society once they finish their term in prison. The inmates of the country’s main prisons in Welikada and Bogambara have also undergone this training and those who successfully completed the course have been chosen to instruct the inmates of the Open Prison. “The open prison is a concept which developed after 1950s. There are no fences or high walls to keep the inmates away from the outside world. This method of rehabilitating criminals is more practical and result oriented,” W.A.L Weerasinghe, Superintendent of Prisoners’ Welfare said. Initially, the vocational training course included the subjects of agriculture and poultry farming and later widened its scope to ironwork, bakery craft, carpentry and handicrafts. The sale of these items has realised a revenue of Rs. 9.2 million for the government last year. “The products made by the inmates were exhibited at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo. We received a healthy response at the exhibition,” Weerasighe, said. Batty Weerakoon, Minister of Justice said that the present prison system was outdated and that he was highly taken up by the programmes implemented in the “Tihar” Prison in India, where the prisoners are offered comprehensive vocational training. The Prisons Department will also be renamed as the ‘Department of Correction’ Justice Ministry sources said.
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