New Delhi: Jail inmates across India are benefiting from free vocational training programmes provided by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), the world's largest open varsity said on Thursday.

The IGNOU initiative was launched in Delhi's Tihar Jail in 1994. From this year, the university said it would be free.

Rajesh Upadhyay is serving life sentence at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Central Jail in Jabalpur. To acquire a specific skill, he enrolled in the IGNOU Computer Literacy Programme (CLP).

"The course will help me get employed after my release," he was quoted as saying in an IGNOU statement.

According to IGNOU, "(the programme) is an opportunity for (inmates) to return to mainstream life with quality education and future development both morally and vocationally."

"They can enroll any time of the year, appear as and when they are ready to take their examinations and get certificates which will ensure them vocational advantage as well as access to quality life," IGNOU said.

For eligibility, inmates must be at least 18 years old.

IGNOU said that in Jabalpur Central Jail's centre, 115 prisoners had taken admission to various programmes in the academic session that began in January.

Jail Superintendent Gopal Tamraka in Jabalpur said, "IGNOU's decision to provide free education has raised the hope of prisoners from poor backgrounds. They can now dream of higher education without paying fees for programmes or for purchasing books."

IGNOU's regional centre at Cochin is also gearing up for more enrollments. Through its special study centres under the Council of NGOs of Rural India (CNRI), it enrolled 57 jail inmates for CLP in 2008. Thirty-four prisoners from Thiruvananthapuram's central jail and 23 prisoners from Kozhikode sub jail enrolled in CLP.

"The university's decision to provide free education to convicts will result in a substantial enrollment for different programmes from this year's session," said K.S.D. Nair, Regional Director, Cochin.

In January, the Haryana government inaugurated an IGNOU study centre in Karnal Jail.

"About 100 prisoners of Karnal jail will be given admission in the first phase. The jail superintendent has been appointed the coordinator of this Special Study Centre," said Ashok Sharma, the Regional Director.

In Cuttack, IGNOU has centres in two central jails - Choudwar and Berhampur. In Rajasthan, it has set up two study centres at the Ajmer and Jaipur central jails.

The central jail in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, will soon have a centre as well.

Bachelor's courses in arts, commerce and social work as well as certificate courses are available at these study centres. IANS