Convicts to study law, serve society

MYSURU: These jail inmates want to pursue higher education to educate people about what makes people do the wrong things. S Narendra and SR Venkatesh, who are serving life terms in Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru wanted to study further after they got their basic degree.
The Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) gave them an opportunity to pursue post-graduation.Both were convicted in dowry death cases and have been in jail since 2007. They received their MA in Political Science at the 15th annual KSOU convocation.
While Narendra secured 63.1%, Venkatesh got 61.3%. Both want to serve society by teling people about the importance of life and the causes of wrong doings. "I want to pursue law to serve society. I've learnt many things and completely changed since I've been in prison. I want to tell people about the consequences of committing crime," said Narendra, 43, who is from Bengaluru. He was a garment sector businessman and got his bachelor's degree in 2013.
Venkatesh, 41, who is from Tumakuru district, wants to pursue his PhD in Political Science. "Life is very precious and no one should be involved in crimes," he says. Education is necessary to understand and lead life in a good manner, they feel.
Doctor, dancer and writer
Dr KS Pavitra, a psychiatrist in Shivamogga, who bagged two gold medals for securing the highest marks in MCJ, wants to promote medical literature and did the course to hone her writing skills. Pavitra, who is also a writer, public speaker and Bharatanatyam dancer, did her graduation in Kannada literature to promote and link dance with Kannada from KSOU in 2012. She's producing a documentary and writing books on medicine and Bharatanatyam.
"As a student, I tried hard to secure the highest marks and succeeded. But, this time, I didn't work hard to try for the gold medal. Contact classes and quality education of KSOU made me achieve success without difficulty," she said. She got her MD degree from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bengaluru in 2005.
For her, time management is not a constraint. She feels if one is deeply interested in something, that's more than enough to achieve success.
"I cannot explain my time management. People must stay with me to know how I manage it," she said.