Central Information Commission
Shine vs University Grants Commission on 8 June, 2017
Central Information Commission
Room No.307, II Floor, B Wing, August Kranti Bhawan, Bhikaji Cama Place, New Delhi-110066
website-cic.gov.in
Complaint No. CIC/CC/C/2014/900253/MP
Complainant : Shri Shine, Trivandrum
Public Authority : M/o Human Resource Development/
University Grants Commission/IASE, New Delhi
Date of Hearing : May 30, 2017
Date of Decision : June 6, 2017
Present:
Complainant : Present - through VC
Respondent : Shri Sanjeev Srivastava, US from MHRD, Ms Kundla
Mahajan, US from UGC and Shri Shivam Tripathi
from IASE - at CIC
RTI application : 21.12.2013
CPIO's reply : 24.12.2013/05.09.2014
First appeal : NIL
FAA's order : NA
Complaint : 08.10.2014
ORDER
1. Shri Shine, the complainant, while stating that he had completed B.Tech in Mechanical Engg Degree from IASE, Deemed University, Sardarshahr, Rajasthan, which was not in the list being a Deemed University; the Supreme Council of Education, Qatar where he was working had kept his request for equivalency certificate pending, he sought equivalency certificate as the Qatar Government was accepting degrees from selected universities from India and the engineers who completed their course from other universities which were not in the approved list of Qatar Government had to obtain equivalency certificate from the Supreme Council of Education. He, therefore, requested for issue of a letter of confirmation about the university's government approval about the validity of B.Tech Degree certificate issued by IASE and its being at par with other universities to enable him to submit the same to the Supreme Council of Education, Qatar.
2. The CPIO provided the relevant guidelines for establishing new departments within the campus, setting up of off-campus centre/centres/institutions and starting distant education programmes by deemed universities and clearly intimated that the UGC had not granted any permission to IASE (Deemed to be University), Rajasthan to establish off-campus centres/study centres and that IASE could not conduct course through franchise. Vide their letter dated 16.1.2014 also, the CPIO, UGC had informed that UGC had not granted any permission to IASE (Deemed to be University) to run B.Tech course.
3. The matter was heard by the Commission. The complainant, however, mentioned notification of MHRD dated 7.4.2006 stating that the notification allowed the deemed university to issue degrees for 130 course which included B.Tech. He also referred to the Distance Education Council approval given to IASE to hold such a course.
4. The respondents stated that the complainant had not mentioned these notifications in his RTI application, therefore, it was not possible for them to comment on the notifications referred to by the complainant. The complainant stated that he needed the information very urgently as it was a question of his career.
5. The Commission, therefore, treating the complaint as a second appeal, directs the appellant to send his request along with the notifications/approvals referred to by him to the CPIOs concerned within three days positively to enable the CPIOs concerned to understand his perspective and they in turn, will respond to his request within one week of the receipt of such request from the appellant under intimation to the Commission. The Commission will again hear the matter on June 21, 2017 at 2.30 PM.
(Manjula Prasher) Information Commissioner Authenticated true copy:
Dy Registrar Copy to :
The Central Public Information Officer The Central Public Information Officer M/o Human Resource Development University Grants Commission Deptt of Higher Education (U.3A Sec) RTI Cell, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi-110001 New Delhi-110002 The Central Public Information Officer Shri Shine IASE (Deemed University) KS Land, Palayamkunnu (PO) Gandhi Vidya Mandir Varkala, Trivandrum-695146 Sardarshahr-331403 (Rajasthan) Kerala