Pvt schools not exempted from RTI Act: CIC

Pvt schools not exempted from RTI Act: CIC

New Delhi,

PRIVATE recognised schools cannot claim exemption from disclosing information to the Education Directorate (ED) under RTI Act, a full Bench of the Central Information Commission (CIC) has held thus virtually bringing them under the ambit of transparency law.
“The issues relating to management and regulation of schools responsible for promotion of education are so important for development that it cannot be left at whims and caprices of private bodies, whether
funded or not by the government,” it said in its order deciding on disclosure of service records of a teacher employed at a private school. Bindu Khanna, a teacher at Pinnacle School at Panchsheel Enclave, had filed an RTI application with the ED seeking to know her service records. But despite orders of the ED to provide the details, the school maintained that it was a private body and hence the act was not applicable to it. It cited sections of the law which exempt the disclosure of personal information.
The commission said various clauses of Delhi School Education Rules 1973 say that all records of a private recognised school are open to inspection by any officer authorised by the director or the appropriate authority at any time. The commission said various clauses of Delhi School Education Rules 1973 say that all records of a private recognised school are open to inspection by any officer authorised by the director or the appropriate authority at any time ■ PTI