Gurugram: More than half of senior officials in Haryana’s prison department aren’t well-versed with the jail manual and many don’t even have adequate knowledge of Hindi, according to results of a departmental examination.
Prison officials, ranging from jail superintendents and deputy superintendents (DSPs) to assistant superintendents (ASPs) and sub-assistant superintendents, had appeared in the test held in June. The test evaluated their knowledge and skills regarding key areas of jail management, including operational and legal frameworks.
As a large number of prison officials failed to meet even basic standards, the results put a scanner on the effectiveness of training programmes and the overall competency of the department’s leadership.
In the Punjab Jail Manual (without appendices) paper, an important subject for jail personnel, 19 out of 33 officers failed the exam, and 13 others passed with ‘lower’ standards. Only one cleared the paper with ‘higher’ standards.
As many as 26 out of 27 failed in the Financial Rules paper, while just one passed, and that too with ‘lower’ standards.
And, what stands out glaringly is the language results in the Hindi heartland state. Fifteen out of 24 officials failed in written and oral Hindi, five passed with ‘lower’ standards, and only four had ‘higher’ standards. To clear the Hindi language paper, a candidate must score at least 50 percent of the total marks.
According to the Punjab Departmental Examination Rules, 1965, which is also followed in Haryana, the examinations are held twice annually, covering the topics of the Punjab Jail Manual (I), jail manual (II), criminal law (III), financial rules (IV), and the Hindi language (V). The rules provide two standards of evaluation—higher and lower—depending on the candidate’s rank and position.
Candidates attain the ‘higher’ standard if they score two-thirds of the maximum marks allocated for a paper, i.e., at least 67 out of 100 marks. Similarly, candidates are considered to have passed with ‘credit’ if they score three-fourths of the maximum marks, i.e., at least 75 out of 100 marks.
Anything less than half of the maximum marks is ‘lower’ standard, according to the rules.
The results were notified in the Haryana government’s official gazette on 26 November.
ThePrint reached Haryana jails minister Arvind Sharma over the phone but he was not available. This report will be updated when a response is received.
A phone call to Director General, Prisons, Mohammad Akil, was attended by his office staff, who said that he was busy in a meeting. ThePrint also reached him through WhatsApp message but to no avail.
John V. George, a retired IPS officer from Haryana who headed the Jail department, said the result reflects the general educational standard in Haryana.
“When it comes to the Punjab Jail Manual, it is a vast topic and the results will depend on the difficulty level of the question paper. However, officials at the Jail Superintendent- and Deputy Superintendent-level are supposed to be conversant with the subject. Similarly, the Financial Rules is not a subject they have to deal with on a daily basis,” the former IPS officer added.
Though Haryana is a Hindi heartland state, he explained, the local residents speak in Haryanvi dialect.
George, however, admitted that the results painted a concerning picture—one that reflected the poor educational standards in Haryana as most of the workforce are educated in schools, colleges and universities of the state.
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Who fared well
A breakdown of the results shows 17 ASPs and 2 DSPs failed the Punjab Jail Manual (without appendices), while 3 sub-assistant superintendents and 1 DSP were unsuccessful in the Criminal Law segment. Additionally, 19 Sub-Assistant Superintendents did not clear the Financial Rules paper.
In the Punjab Jail Manual (without appendices), 33 officers appeared—one Jail Superintendent, 3 DSPs, and 29 Sub-Assistant Superintendents. The Jail Superintendent passed with lower standards, two DSPs failed while the other passed with ‘higher’ standards. Of the 29 Sub-Assistant Superintendents, 17 failed and 12 passed with ‘lower’ standards.
The worst results were observed in the Financial Rules paper wherein 26 out of the 27 officers failed in the test. A Deputy Superintendent was the lone officer to pass with ‘lower’ standards.
The results were better in the papers related to Jail Manual 2 and Criminal Law.
Of the 31 officers who gave the Jail Manual 2 exam, only 3 failed, five passed with ‘lower’ standards while 23 got ‘higher’ standards. Similarly, 14 passed with ‘higher’ standards in the criminal law paper, while only four others did not clear the test.
(Edited by Tony Rai)