Hyderabad: Under the leadership of Dr. Soumya Mishra, IPS, Director General of Prisons & Correctional Services, Telangana, the state’s prison rehabilitation efforts have achieved a historic milestone. For the first time, 78 prison inmates across Telangana successfully passed the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) Class X (SSC) examinations. To reward their hard work and dedication to self-improvement, Dr. Mishra announced a special Director General’s Remission for all successful candidates.
The initiative began when the Telangana Prisons Department, under Dr. Mishra’s guidance, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with NIOS to extend secondary education opportunities to inmates. A total of 108 inmates enrolled across Central Prison Cherlapalli, Central Prison Nizamabad, and the Special Prison for Women in Hyderabad. To ensure their success, Dr. Mishra’s department facilitated structured year-long preparation, utilizing government-allocated teachers, hiring private educators at the department’s expense, and offering practical coursework including Data Entry Operator skills to boost future employability.
The strategy yielded remarkable results, with 56 inmates passing from Cherlapalli, 15 from Nizamabad, and 7 from the Special Prison for Women. Dr. Mishra personally distributed certificates to the successful graduates, congratulating them on their perseverance, courage, and resolve to build a dignified future. Reflecting on the impact of the initiative, several inmates noted how gaining an education restored their confidence, with one inmate sharing his ambition to study law to provide free legal aid to underprivileged prisoners.
Dr. Mishra expressed her gratitude to NIOS leadership, including former Regional Director Sri Parampreet Singh and current Regional Director Dr. Praveen Chauhan, for their vital partnership. She also commended the dedicated prison officers, welfare coordinators, and teaching staff who guided the students throughout their academic journey.
Building on this momentum, Dr. Mishra outlined an ambitious path forward for inmate education. She announced plans to motivate all 78 graduates to pursue their Senior Secondary (10+2) credentials through NIOS, while noting that 47 new inmates have already enrolled for the upcoming SSC cycle. Higher education pathways are also being expanded, as 10+2 graduates will be eligible for undergraduate degrees through the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University Study Centre at Central Prison, Cherlapalli. Furthermore, Dr. Mishra encouraged the new SSC graduates to enroll in technical and vocational training at the Cherlapalli prison ITI facility to gain practical skills for long-term self-reliance.
The certificate ceremony was attended by senior dignitaries including NIOS representatives, Inspector General of Prisons Sri Y. Rajesh, Deputy Inspectors General Dr. D. Srinivas and Sri M. Sampath, alongside various prison superintendents, educators, and staff.