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Religious schools in prison to rehabilitate prisoners

by Melani Manel Perera
The plan by the Ministry of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms entails courses in Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. Religious and spiritual leaders warn that however praiseworthy the initiative may be, it entails a great deal responsibility, and teachers must be well trained.
Colombo (AsiaNews) – Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms wants to set up “religious schools” in all of the country’s prisons in order to educate, rehabilitate and prepare prisoners for the outside world. Officially unveiled on 13 May, the plan includes courses on Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism in 33 prisons and correctional centres for young offenders. The country’s religious and spiritual leaders have praised the initiative but warn that the task transcends teaching and constitutes a great responsibility.

“Prison teachers should be well trained,” said Ven Weligama Dhammissara Thero, from Sri Senevirathnaramaya Temple, in Wellampitiya, so that “prisoners can get their lives back.”

For Fr Noel Dias, a Catholic priest and former prison chaplain of the Colombo Diocese, the proposal would meet a real need. “Society needs honest people. It is up to the authorities to prepare them.”

“There are all sorts of people in prison. Whatever their offences, it is our duty to help them on the path of responsibility. Religion makes better human beings,” said Ramachandra Kurukkal Babusharma, secretary of the International Hindu Religious Federation.

For Seyed Hassan Moulana, co-chairman of the Interreligious Alliance for National Unity and chief moulavi at Colombo’s Dewatagaha Jumma Mosque, the plan would have to take into account prisoners’ daily activities.

“Religion cannot be taught in a hurry as a mere course,” he said. “First, we must understand their [prisoners’] way of thinking. An encounter with faith cannot be just another burden in their lives.”