Bars couldn't stop them sail through board exams

Prison walls and the lack of facilities surrendered meekly before their determination. This year’s Uttar Pradesh board results for the intermediate examination brought cheers to many undertrial prisoners who had appeared in them from behind the bars.

The undertrial prisoners’ pass percentage is about 95, surpassing previous records.

As many as 18 undertrial prisoners secured first division, according to officials, who also said that the results of six of them has been withheld for unknown reasons.

The model jail in the state capital earned the distinction of having the maximum number of first division undertrial prisoners. In all 10 prisoners secured first division, officials said. Six undertrial prisoners form Muzaffarnagar district jail also secured first division.

Many prisoners have got more than 75 per cent, showing that they had worked hard for their exams. Some of the successful examinees were in jail on charges of murder.

Officials said in all 150 undertrial prisoners had applied for appearing in the intermediate examination this year but only 117 actually took it, as the others were released and they then opted out.

The then inspector general of jails Sulkhan Singh had mooted the idea of prisoners sitting in the board examinations and it was implemented from 2009 to help them rehabilitate themselves and engage in constructive work.