27.37% prison inmates 'illiterate', over 5,600 techies: Govt data

New Delhi: As many as 1,32,729 (27.37 per cent) of the 4,78,600 prison inmates in the country are illiterate while 5,677 hold a technical degree or diploma, according to Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) data.

The prison statistics presented by Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy recently in Parliament were based on a compilation of data by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) updated till December 31, 2019.

The data on education of prison inmates showed that the maximum number of 1,98,872 (or 41.55 per cent) prisoners are educated below class 10 level.

It showed that 1,32,729 (27.37 per cent) prison inmates were illiterate, while 1,03,036 (or 21.52 per cent) studied beyond class 10 but below graduate level.

According to the data, 30,201 (6.31 per cent) prison inmates were graduates, while 8,085 (1.68 per cent) were post graduates and as many as 5,677 (1.18 per cent) held a technical degree or diploma, etc.

Among states and UTs, Uttar Pradesh had the overall highest number of prisoners 1,01,297 (or 21.16 per cent of the country's total prison inmates) followed by Madhya Pradesh (44,603) and Bihar (39,814). Uttar Pradesh also houses the maximum number of prison inmates who are illiterate (31,927), educated up till class 10 (36,390), beyond class 10 but below graduation (21,269), graduates (8,151), post graduates (2,635) and techies (925), it showed.

West Bengal had not furnished prison statistics for 2018 and 2019 because of which its figures from 2017 were used in the data, while Maharashtra's category-wise break up was 'not available', the data mentioned.

Moreover, as per the MHA data, over 67 per cent of the 4,78,600 prison inmates in the country are Hindu while nearly 18 per cent Muslim.