Kerala home minister moots Prison Academy in the state

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Home minister Ramesh Chennithala on Thursday said that the state government would upgrade the State Institute of Correctional Administration (SICA) under the Prisons Department into a Prison Academy to train recruits following the lines of a police academy. The Minister was speaking during the occasion of the passing out parade of the new batch prison warders at the SICA campus at Thevankode near Kallikkadu here.
Ramesh said that the government would take necessary steps to upgrade the SICA headquarters at Thevankode into a Prison Academy which would facilitate providing better training to the recruits and thereby improve the overall efficacy of the department. He also promised to look into the problem of serious staff shortage faced by the department and would take all action necessary to solve it.
As many as 84 prison warders took part in the passing out parade on Thursday. They belonged to the training camps at SICA headquarters here and also the extension training centre in Kannur.
The Minister also inaugurated a three-storeyed building, which houses classes of recruits, office rooms and barracks on separate floor, at the SICA campus.
DGP (Prisons) T P Senkumar, Parassala MLA A T George, district panchayat president Ansajitha Rassal, prison headquarters DIG H Gopakumar, DIG (prisons) South Zone and director of SICA B Pradeep were also present.