Gujarat Education Board "sets aside" SC order, has no provision for RTI plea for copies of answer sheets

The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board, which declared science stream results on May 12, wants those seeking copy of the corrected answer sheets to apply online, pay Rs 300 per answer sheet, allegedly in complete in violation of a Supreme Court order, which allows students to obtain it through a Right to Information (RTI) plea within 48 hours.
Taking strong exception to the Board move, Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel (MAGP), the state’s premier Right to Information (RTI) NGO, has asked it to follow the Supreme Court judgment of 2011 (SCA 6454/2011) which said that the “answer sheet” falls within the definition of information, and every student has right to seek a copy of the her/his answer sheet “within 48 hours of filing RTI application as per section 7(1) of RTI Act.”
The RTI Act’s section 7(1) wants the information, if it concerns the life or liberty of a person, to be provided within 48 hours of the receipt of the application.
In its letter to the Board, MAGP says, as the Board website does not show RTI link and details of public information officers (PIOs), it needs to clarify how it going to the implement RTI Act. The letter wants the Board to make immediate corrections on its website.
MAGP’s letter to the Board follows several calls it received on the RTI helpline (9924085000) from students and parents, who, it says, complained that “there is no citizen-friendly mechanism for accepting RTI application at the Board office at Gandhinagar.”
Worse, adds MAGP, “Their websites also not showing RTI link and names of PIOs and appellate authorities, as required under Section 4 of the RTI Act.”
Simultaneously, taking into cognizance the fact that the matter concerns the future of students, MAGP has filed a complaint the Gujarat State Information Commission (SIC), the state’s RTI watchdog, under section 18 of RTI Act, which allows an SIC to receive and inquire into a grievance urgently.
MAGP, in a statement, insists, answer sheets do not “fall in the category of fiduciary relationship” and the RTI Act has “the overriding effect over any other rules that exist for preventing information to be disclosed or rules for providing information.”
“The Board is expected to declare by issuing a press note that RTI applications will be received and certified copies of the answer sheets will be provided. The provisions of checking OMR or answer sheets cannot restrict a student’s right to seek certified copy”, Harinesh Pandya of MAGP insists.
“The charge for seeking answer sheet is Rs 2 per page as per provisions of the RTI Act. The Board cannot decide the timeline, procedure and unreasonable prices contravene to the Act”, he adds.
Pankti Jog, who handles RTI helpline, says, “We appeal to students to file RTI application on a stamp paper, or with through court fee/revenue stamp, or by paying Rs 20 in cash on a plain paper. The PIO of the Board should furnish copy or respond within eight hours.”
“Our helpline will help students to file RTI applications. If they do not get response, student can file complaint to Gujarat Information Commission”, she adds.

Comments

Beyond the Sattvik plate: Prof Anil Gupta's take on food, ethics, and sustainability

I was pleasantly surprised to receive a rather lengthy comment (I don't want to call it a rejoinder) on my blog post about the Sattvik Food Festival, held near the Sola Temple in Ahmedabad late last year. It came from no less a person than Anil Gupta, Professor Emeritus at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A), under whose guidance this annual event was held.

No to free thought? How Gujarat's private universities are cowing down their students

"Don't protest"—that's the message private universities across Gujarat seem to be conveying to their students. A senior professor told me that students at the university where he teaches are required to sign an undertaking promising not to engage in protests. "They simply sign the undertaking and hand it over to the university authorities," he said.

'Potentially lethal, carcinogenic': Global NGO questions India refusing to ban white asbestos

Associated with the Fight Inequality Alliance, a global movement that began in 2016 to "counter the concentration of power and wealth among a small elite", claiming to have members in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Kenya, Zambia, the Philippines, and Denmark, the advocacy group Confront Power appears all set to intensify its campaign against India as "the world’s largest asbestos importer".

In lieu of tribute to Pritish Nandy, said to be instrumental in collapse of Reliance-controlled daily

It is widely reported that Pritish Nandy , journalist, author, animal activist, and politician, has passed away. While it is customary to pay tributes to a departing soul—and I, too, have joined those who have posted heartfelt condolences on social media—I cannot forget the way he treated me when he was editor of the Reliance-controlled Business and Political Observer (BPO), for which I had been working informally in Moscow.

Shyam Benegal's Mathan a propaganda film that supported 'system'? No way

A few days ago, I watched Manthan, a Shyam Benegal movie released in 1976. If I remember correctly, the first time I saw this movie was with Safdar Hashmi, one of the rare young theater icons who was brutally murdered in January 1989. Back then, having completed an M.A. in English Literature from Delhi University in 1975, we would often move around together.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Sattvik Food Festival: Shouldn't one question notion of purity, cultural exclusion in food choices?

Recently, I visited the Sattvik Food Festival, an annual event in Ahmedabad organized by Anil Gupta, professor emeritus at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A). I have known Prof. Gupta since 1993, when I sought an appointment to meet him a few months after joining The Times of India in Ahmedabad—one reason why I have always been interested in the activities he is involved in.

To be or not to be Sattvik: Different communities' differing notions of purity and fasting

This is a continuation of my last blog on Sattvik food. When talking about Sattvik, there is a tendency to overlook what it may mean to different sections of people around the world. First, let me redefine Sattvik: it means having a "serene, balanced, and harmonious mind or attitude." Derived from the Sanskrit word sattva, it variously means "pure, essence, nature, vital, energy, clean, conscious, strong, courage, true, honest, and wise." How do people achieve this so-called purity? Among Gujarati Hindus, especially those from the so-called upper castes who are vegetarians, one common way is fasting. On fasting days, such as agiyarash —the 11th day of the lunar cycle in the Vedic calendar—my close relatives fast but consume milk, fruit juices, mangoes, grapes, bananas, almonds, pistachios, and potato-based foods, including fried items. Another significant fasting period is adhik maas. During this time, many of my relatives "fast" by eating only a single me...

Challenging patriarchy? Adopting maternal and marital surnames: Resistance continues

Anandiben Patel The other day, I was talking with a group of family friends. The discussion revolved around someone very close to me who had not changed her official name in documents, including her Aadhaar and passport, after her marriage. However, on social media and within her husband's family, she had adopted her husband's surname as a suffix to her own. I mentioned that there is a growing trend—though not yet widespread—where women prefer to retain their maiden names or add their maiden surnames alongside their husband's surname. Another emerging trend is where men choose to add their mother's name, or even their wife's name, to their own. This revelation surprised my family friends.

Search This Blog