Lucknow, April 21 : Amit Kumar, a 22-year-old undertrial accused in a rape case and currently lodged in the Lucknow jail, has achieved an outstanding score of 89.33 per cent and has topped among prisoners who appeared for the class 10 Uttar Pradesh Board examination, the results of which were announced on Saturday, a top jail official said.

Senior Jail Superintendent Ashish Tiwari lauded Amit Kumar's achievement, describing him as a cooperative individual actively involved in administrative tasks on the jail premises.

Besides Amit, Virendra Kumar secured 73.83 per cent marks in Class 10, with seven out of eight examinees passing in the first division.

Kumar's accomplishment is not an isolated one.

A total of 196 inmates from various jails across Uttar Pradesh appeared for the high school and intermediate examinations conducted by the Uttar Pradesh Board.

This year witnessed a significant surge of 43 per cent in the number of inmates taking the examination as compared to last year's figure of 137.

The success rate of jail inmates in Uttar Pradesh was quite impressive with a pass percentage of 98 in high school and 83 per cent in intermediate examinations.

At least 89 out of 91 prisoners, who appeared for class 10 cleared the examination, while 87 out of 105 inmates, who took class 12 examination, were successful.

Last year, 62 inmates had appeared for high school examinations of whom 59 passed.

Similarly, in the intermediate examination, 75 inmates appeared and 63 succeeded.

Meanwhile, in class 12 exams, two out of six examinees passed from the Lucknow jail.

Similarly, at Shahjahanpur jail, four inmates took the high school exams while three appeared for the intermediate exams, with their examination centre at the Central Jail in Bareilly.

These inmates were escorted to the examination centre from jail premises under strict supervision.

"Vikas Verma, a rape accused, secured 75 per cent marks in class 12 in the science stream. Ravi, a rape convict, secured 80 per cent marks in the class 10 examination," said M. Lal, Jail Superintendent of Shahjahanpur.

"Efforts were made to facilitate the inmates' studies. Study material was provided to them in jail and three education instructors were appointed to oversee their progress. Inmates with teaching experience were also engaged in educational activities. Lal emphasised that these inmates worked diligently throughout the year, focusing solely on their studies, which contributed to their outstanding performance," he added.

Director General, Prisons, S.N. Sabat, commended the transformation in the atmosphere of Uttar Pradesh jails, emphasising the provision of educational resources and involvement of staff and inmates in promoting learning opportunities.

/IANS