Information related to the Professional Develop. Programme for Elementary Teachers Bridge course - CIC issued an advisory u/s 25(5) of the RTI Act to the Chairman, Nation Institute of Open Schooling to organise basic training programmes on RTI Act matters
13 Apr, 2020Information Sought:
The appellant has sought the information related to the Professional Dev. Programme for Elementary Teachers (PDPT) Bridge course which is currently going on from NIOS:
1. How many teachers have applied from all States, Union Territories for the above mentioned course.
2. How many teachers from Uttar Pradesh had applied for the said course from Government schools and private schools.
3. How many government schools principal had verified credentials of teachers by online mode in respect of point number 2.
4. And other related information.
Grounds for Second Appeal
The CPIO has not provided the desired information.
Submissions made by Appellant and Respondent during Hearing:
The representative of the appellant submitted that till date no information has been provided to the appellant.
The CPIO submitted that a point-wise reply was given to the appellant on 03.01.2019
Observations:
From a perusal of the relevant case records and the written submissions of the CPIO dated 13.03.2020, it is noted that a point-wise reply was given to the appellant through online portal on 03.01.2019 and hence the question of nonreceipt of the said reply by the appellant does not arise as it was given through online RTI portal. However, the CPIO is directed to send a copy of the written submissions dated 13.03.2020 to the appellant by way of speed post within a period of 20 days from the date of receipt of this order.
The Commission also notes that there was a delay of almost 04 months in giving a reply to the appellant and the CPIO was not able to give any justification for the same except for submitting that he was not the concerned CPIO at the relevant time. It shows that the RTI applications are being handled in a casual way by the respondent organisation as a whole. The representative of the appellant also brought to the notice of the Commission that in another case, a warning was issued against the same organisation which shows that they are negligent in following the provisions of the RTI Act.
Decision:
In view of the above, the CPIO is directed to send a copy of the written submissions dated 13.03.2020 alongwith the relevant annexures to the appellant by way of speed post within a period of 30 days from the date of receipt of this order
An advisory is issued u/s 25(5) of the RTI Act to the Chairman, Nation Institute of Open Schooling to organise basic training programmes on RTI Act/matters to the officers (respondent CPIO/PIO and FAA)/ and staff dealing with RTI matters working under them, sensitizing them with the RTI Act and particularly with the online working of the RTI portal without any delay. The Commission desires that this advice should be viewed seriously and an action taken report be submitted to the Commission within one month of the receipt of this order.
The appeal is disposed of accordingly.
Vanaja N. Sarna
Information Commissioner
Citation: Annapoorna Kushwaha v. National Institute of Open Schooling in Decision no.: -CIC/NIOPS/A/2018/635250/03206, Date of Decision: 30/03/2020