UGC was asked whether B.Ed. (in service modular) course conducted by Lucknow University was equivalent to regular B.Ed. course - CIC: PIO, NCTE to obtain clear information as to who grants equivalence to degrees & whether the course is equivalent to B.Ed.
4 Aug, 2017ORDER
1. Ms Shashi Bala Srivstava, the appellant, sought to know from UGC whether B.Ed. (in service modular) course conducted by Lucknow University during 1994-95 and 1995-96 was equivalent to regular B.Ed. course. UGC transferred the RTI application to NCTE, Delhi who in turn further transferred the same to their Regional Office, Jaipur for providing the information to the appellant.
2. The CPIO, NCTE, Jaipur, intimated the appellant that the matter regarding equivalence of degrees was out of their purview and advised the appellant to contact Association of Indian Universities. Dissatisfied, the appellant approached the first appellate authority stating that she had not been provided the information and requested the FAA to provide her the information sought. Not having received any response from the FAA, the appellant came in appeal before the Commission.
3. The matter was heard by the Commission. The appellant’s representative stated that his wife, who was the appellant, did her B.Ed. from Lucknow University in 1996 and applied for selection for teacher’s post. After selection, however, she was informed that her degree was not valid and now she had become overage and, therefore, he wanted to know whether the Lucknow University’s B.Ed. given in 1996 was accepted by NCTE.
4. The respondents stated that they had categorically informed the appellant that the matter regarding the equivalence of degrees was not in their jurisdiction and the appellant should approach the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) for the purpose. The AIU had, however, already informed the appellant that they did not have information on B.Ed (in service modular) course offered by Lucknow University and that the equivalence of Indian degrees falls within the ambit of degree awarding or admission giving university. They had also forwarded the RTI application to the PIO of the Lucknow University. The consultant from NRC, Jaipur also stated that the information sought does not come within the purview of the NRC.
5. On hearing both the parties, the Commission observes that the RTI application addressed to the CPIO, UGC had been forwarded to NCTE and AIU. However, none of the authorities had given a clear response to the appellant. There is no doubt that it is an important matter for a person who had obtained a degree for getting selected for a particular post. The confusion prevailing, therefore, as to whether the degree in question was valid or not, needs to be resolved. The Commission directs the CPIO, NCTE to obtain clear information as to who grants/approves equivalence to degrees and in particular whether B.Ed. (in service modular) course is equivalent to regular B.Ed. course or not and provide information to the appellant with a copy to the Commission within 20 days of the receipt of the order of the Commission.
The appeal is disposed of.
(Manjula Prasher)
Information Commissioner
Citation: Ms Shashi Bala Srivstava, Sravasti v. NCTE, Appeal No. CIC/RM/A/2014/003826/MP Date of Decision : July 20, 2017