Police officers teach prisoners to read and write for positive changes

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Captain Ngo Sy Thuong is working as a police officer at Gia Trung Prison in Gia Lai but he is more well known among the prisoners as a teacher who instructs illiterate prisoners to practise reading and writing in Vietnamese.

Captain Ngo Sy Thuong at a literacy class at Gia Trung Prison. — Photo cadn.com.vn

In 1993, after graduating from the police school, Thuong became a police officer at the prison. He started a literacy class for prisoners in 2007 and has been teaching them ever since, said the VNA.

Illiterate prisoners take a two-year literacy class before they are qualified to start at primary school level. Every week, they attend four classes, each of which lasts for eight hours, to learn how to read and write.

Teaching special students is such a difficult task for Thuong but one he has fulfilled over the past 10 years. Hundreds of prisoners are able to read and write after thanks to Thuong.

“When I took on the duty, I was quite confused because I had never taken any teaching skill course," he said.

"The students are also very special.

“Ages of students vary from teenagers to more than 60 years old. Some of them have never learned literacy but some others finished grade 3. It is very difficult to plan the lessons.

"Many students are from ethnic minority groups and can not speak Vietnamese. I am lucky to have my wife who is a teacher help me with teaching skills and planning the lessons. Every year I take teaching skill courses to improve my abilities."

This is not only a literacy class but it also teaches prisoners positive lessons in their process of rehabilitation.

He added: “Through each lesson, I always try to inspire them with positive affection among people and good behaviour in daily life so that they will have the determination to improve themselves and reintegrate into society.”

Nguyen Duy Coi, now in his 60s, was unable to read and write because he dropped out of school at the age of seven.

Coi said “The teacher is very caring. I hope I can learn to read and write so that I can return to society to be able to read books and newspapers or at least to sign my name.”

Prisoner Nguyen Van Tru, 26, who has taken the class for six months, said: “Many laughed at me because I was illiterate. I felt very upset. Thanks to teacher Thuong, I am able to read and write and understand more good things about life. Literacy will help me a lot after I reintegrate into society.”

Touching prisoner's heart

Having worked as a prison superintendent for more than 10 years, Captain Nguyen Tien Hung, an officer of the Ha Tinh Public Security Detention Center, said that officers working as prison superintendents must have a mind for the profession and acumen to be able to understand each situation, the feelings and aspirations of prisoners and suspects in order to have appropriate education methods, avoiding the situations of sabotage, wrong communication, escaping from jail, suicide in jail.

Captain Nguyen Tien Hung checks the jails. Photo: congan.hatinh.gov.vn

Daily contact with hundreds of dangerous and rogue thugs in an isolated area, covered with sealed high wall gates, with barbed wire fence, strictly protected 24/seven, it is realized all the hardships and dangers faced by the police officers as Captain Nguyen Tien Hung and others.

Normally, new prisoners sent to the jail are often confused and anxious, it is essential to provide them with mental reassurance. But in order to do that, prison police officers must be ethical and always close to motivate suspects and prisoners to cheer up their spirits and obey the rules of the detention place.

The prison superintendents in general and Captain Hung in particular always comply with the law, strict and soft, always humane, helping prisoners, suspects and suspects return to work soon. life again. Sticking with the detention center, the prison guards use human hearts and emotions in education, to turn offenders soon to turn to goodness.

Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Nguyen Huy Chuong, Supervisor of the detention center, said: the center always organizes effective activities in the fields of detention, management, rehabilitation, and education for prisoners. The detention center has strictly implemented the policies for inmates serving prison sentences; the special amnesty consideration ensures fairness, democracy and publicity; the work of considering and reducing the prison sentence term is more and more effective.

Use positive sentiment and responsibility to inspire "rogue" criminals

Sentiment and responsibility

The team managed by Captain Hung is the one with many very serious, especially serious criminals, in which, there are even both "press gangs" and "jailbirds". It is difficult to understand the obstacles faced by the insiders because of the long working time, stresses due to the number of increasingly dangerous objects, and especially the more repeated offenders, the harder it is to educate and change positively them. In some cases, the prisoners' families also ignore them, but the prison superintendents still take all of their hearts to change and renovate the prisoners' personality.

Inmate Chinda KcoViSot is a Lao who was guilty of buying, selling and illegally transporting international narcotics, and is sentenced to death. The days in the special jail awaiting the execution of his sentence, Chinda KcoViSot thought about life, about family. Once dubbed the "border godfather", Chinda KcoViSot thinks that his mistakes themselves cannot be washed away. But thanks to the encouragement of the Vietnamese police officers, especially Captain Hung, the man who used to "lay down the law" in this border area was able to shed tears, late regretful tears. Chinda KcoVi confided: “Luckily I meet policeman Hung this place, Mr Hung makes me see my life more meaningful, Mr Hung is very nice and gentle, sometimes I don't understand Vietnamese, but I was taught to speak and write, I don't feel lost here”.

Outside of the detention center, it is seen the image of old mothers, women carrying young children, most of them looked austerity, carrying food and drinks to visit their children, visit husbands and father in the jail. With the responsibility and affection of police officers working in detention centers, hope that inmates are always very good at reforming, soon becoming useful citizens of society and for their family.

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