Kathmandu, May 13:

Serving time for any reason may be one of the most depressing and unwanted part of one’s life. However, this does not hold true with 30-year-old Padma Chhetri (name changed), who is serving a 15-year term in the Central Jail for smuggling, as she has been drawing a monthly government salary for running primary level classes for female inmates in the prison.

Jailer Rajendra Adhikary said the government pays her Rs 4,900 a month for serving as a lower secondary level teacher inside the jail.

According to him, after a certain period of their sentence, the inmates are appointed as naikes (leaders), chaukidars (gatekeepers), teachers and counselors.

Of the 139 women inmates in the jail, 67 of them are prisoners serving time, 72 are detainees and four of them are foreigners, according to Adhikary.

“I decided to utilise my time in the jail. I passed the School Leaving Examination and Intermediate level while in detention,” said Chhetri, recounting her early days in the jail and how she awaited the court’s verdict for two long years.

Chhetri is also preparing for the first year examinations of the Bachelor’s level.

A small school inside the jail has 53 inmates studying in classes 1 to 4. The government provides the inmates with textbooks, while the jail has classrooms desks and benches for the students. The inmates, however, buy other educational materials on their own and are often helped by NGOs.

“Not that everyone is keen of learning, but it is amazing to see the inmates becoming literate,” Chhetri said. Besides teaching, she also runs a tailoring workshop inside the jail. “I have always dreamt of owning a boutique,” said Chhetri, who has now mastered the art of tailoring. “Advanced trainings that different NGOs offered to the inmates helped me learn skill trainings.”

NGOs have also provided 16 sewing machines and come up with orders from companies.