Death-row prisoner’s undying quest

Tuesday 30th May, 2023

Prisons are gloomy places devoid of hope, and hardly anything uplifting emanates from behind their tall walls. In this country, they are veritable hellholes. In the developed world, the structure of prison life is re-engineered as a parallel universe, as it were; prisoners are trained to behave responsibly like the members of society at large, as part of their rehabilitation programmes. This novel approach is reported to have yielded very encouraging results, but hopelessness continues to reign in death row cells, especially in the countries where capital punishment is carried out. But amidst a national feeling of doom and gloom, an ennobling story has been reported from the Welikada Prison, of all places. It is about a death row prisoner’s undying quest for learning!

Ten prisoners are sitting the ongoing GCE O/L examination, and among them is a death-row inmate of the Welikada jail, we are told. Despite his criminal record, this particular prisoner could be considered a poster boy of sorts for the promotion of the value of education in a country where the school drop-out rate is disconcertingly high. Researchers have pointed out that a large number of students drop out in Grade 11 before sitting the GCE O/L examination or after failing it; the drop-out rate among boys is believed to be as high as 46.7%, and it is said to be 33.3% among girls. There are many causative factors, which have gone unaddressed by policymakers all these years.

We learn that the much-maligned prison authorities are considerate enough to encourage the inmates who are desirous of pursuing studies to do so and provide necessary facilities. They deserve praise for that, and one can only hope that more inmates will avail themselves of the opportunity to study and sit examinations.

Some lawbreakers having thus sought to enrich their lives with education, which enables one to acquire knowledge, broaden one’s understanding of the world and gain tools to achieve progress, the question is why not all lawmakers are not keen to do so.

The task of carrying out legislative duties and functions requires a certain level of education; a person without basic mathematical and language skills cannot read and understand vital documents such as the appropriation Bill, much less analyse economic data and make decisions based thereon. The fact that many MPs do not understand the annual Budget at all becomes obvious from their behaviour during the debate on it; they cannot have any serious discussion on the Budget; they resort to hurling abuse and filth, instead, to cover up their ignorance. In 2015, the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe declared in Parliament that most MPs did not know a Treasury bond from James Bond!

Parliament has not favourably considered media requests that the educational qualifications of the MPs be made available officially. Journalists have had to settle for what is provided by the MPs themselves voluntarily, and there is no guarantee of the accuracy of such information. How can we expect the national legislature to act in a transparent manner when it refuses to reveal the educational qualifications of its members officially?

Some Ministers look as confused and funny as Donkey, the deuteragonist in Shrek, the animated comedy film, when they meet experts, especially foreigners. They cut very pathetic figures, and their behaviour is cringeworthy. A country is known internationally by the representatives it elects, and foreign investors may not take Sri Lanka seriously so long as jokers remain at the levers of power. No wonder other countries such as Singapore have overtaken us.

Ranjan Ramanayaka set an example by sitting the GCE O/L and A/L examinations to obtain necessary qualifications for higher education when he was an MP. This is the right attitude that all adults who have missed opportunities early in life to complete their school education should adopt. His example is worthy of emulation, his theatrics notwithstanding.

It looks as if our honourable lawmakers who are refusing to reveal their educational qualifications for obvious reasons had to learn from the aforesaid lawbreakers who have realised the value of education.