Central Information Commission
Msrajwanti Aggarwal vs Government Of Nct Of Delhi on 20 May, 2014
CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION
(Room No.315, BWing, August Kranti Bhawan, Bhikaji Cama Place, New Delhi 110 066)
File No.CIC/AD/A/2013/000122SA
(Ms.Rajwanti Aggarwal Vs. Dte. Of Education, GNCTD , Delhi)
Appellant : Ms.Rajwanti Aggarwal
Respondent : Dte. Of Education, GNCTD, Delhi
Date of hearing : 05052014
Date of decision : 20052014
Information Commissioner : Prof. M. Sridhar Acharyulu
(Madabhushi Sridhar)
Referred Sections : Sections 3, 19(3) of the
RTI Act
Result : Appeal allowed / disposed of
The appellant is represented by Mr. Puneet Aggarwal. The Public Authority is
represented by Ms. Rashmi Gahlaut, DDE, GNCTD along with Mr. Abhilash, Advocate
representing the RR Geeta BB Public School, Delhi.
FACTS
2. The appellant, who had worked as Assistant Teacher in the respondent/school, is seeking certified copy of her service book, annual confidential reports, appointment letter and composition of the Management committee, etc. 1
3. The PIO of Dte Of Education has replied stating that as per DSEAR 1973 the said information is not maintained with them and regarding point 4, they replied that the school is not providing them with any information. FAA has passed order directing the PIO to take necessary action and warn EO, ZoneXII for not providing the information. During the hearing the Dte Of Education/PIO has submitted that except maintaining the balance sheets of the private unaided schools, they don't maintain any information regarding the public schools and their staff. The representative/advocate of the School, submitted that they are not having the RTI application of the appellant. The same has been supplied to him during hearing.
4. The Commission heard the submissions. The respondent/School agreed to furnish the information to the appellant.
5. The Commission in a number of cases involving the respondent authority came across cases whereby they have shown their inability to procure information if the school involved was private unaided school. The respondent authority had submitted in those cases that the information was not provided to them under Rule 180 of the Delhi School Education Rules, 1973 and that they had no other source to collect the information or that it was not under their possession. The Commission finds it necessary to explain certain significant provisions of the Delhi School Education Act & Rules, 1973 so that the respondents understand that they were given enough regulatory power to secure the information from schools.
6. Section 4 of the Delhi School Education Act, 1973, dealing with Recognition of School says:
"Under this section no school is provided recognition unless it submits application as to its adequate fund which includes the payment of salary and allowances to its employees, its scheme of management etc and if the management committee 2 fails to comply with the provisions of this section the school's recognition can even be withdrawn."
Thus, the DoE has authority to secure information from the recognized private unaided schools as to salaries, allowances, scheme of management as there is power with them to withdraw recognition if the schools do not comply with the same. Section 8 deals with the Terms and conditions of services of employees of recognized private schools. The provision states "(1) The Administrator may make rules regulating the minimum qualifications for recruitment, and the conditions of service, of employees of recognized private schools.
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(2) Subject to any rule that may be made in this behalf, no employee of a recognized private school shall be dismissed, removed or reduced in rank nor shall his service be otherwise terminated except with the prior approval of the Director.
(5) ........."
Thus it is clear that even with regard to the employees of recognizes private school, the administrator/director should have information as to their recruitment or dismissal etc. Delhi Education School Education Rules, 1973 has following significant provisions: Rule 44 deals with the Notices of intention to open a new school: It states: 3
"(1) With a view to enabling the Administrator to arrange for the planned development of school education in Delhi, every individual, association of individuals, society or trust, desiring to establish a new school, not being a minority school, shall, before establishing such new school, give an intimation in writing to the Administrator of his or their intention to establish such school. (2) The intimation, referred to in subrule (1), shall contain the following particulars, namely :--
(relevant Sub sections)
(e) the particulars including measurements of the building or other structure in which the school is proposed to be run;
...
(g) the composition of the managing committee of the proposed new school until the new school is recognised and a new managing committee is constituted in accordance with the scheme of management made under the Act;
(h) the proposed procedure, until its recognition under the Act, for the selection of the head of the school and other teachers and nonteaching staff and the minimum qualifications for their recruitment;
(i) the proposed scales of pay for the head of the school and other teaching and nonteaching staff until the school is recognized under the Act,
(j)
(k) ...............
The above rule make it clear that the school authorities while submitting plan for opening of new school have to submit details like particulars of school, management committee details, recruitment procedure, proposed pay scale etc"
Rule 49 deals with Form and Manner of application for recognition:
"Every private school seeking recognition shall make an application, if Form I, to the appropriate authority, and every such application shall either be delivered to the appropriate authority through any individual or sent to that authority by registered post acknowledgment due."4
Form I of the above rule contain detail as to the school properties, salary paid to the employees of the school etc. Rule 50 deals with the Condition for recognition: .
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"(xviii) the school furnishes such reports and information as may be required by the Director from time to time and complies with such instructions of the appropriate authority or the Director as may be issued to secure the continued fulfillment of the condition of recognition or the removal of deficiencies in the working of the school; (xix) all records of the school are open to inspection by any officer authorized by the Director or the appropriate authority at any time, and the school furnishes such information as may be necessary to enable the Central Government or the Administrator to discharge its or his obligations to Parliament or to the Metropolitan Council of Delhi, as the case may be.
This rule explains responsibility of school management to give information / reports and the authority of Education Department to collect the same. Thus, this includes the right to information of citizen through public authority, i.e., department of education,"
Rule 96 deals with the Recruitment : "(1) Nothing contained in this Chapter shall apply to an unaided minority school. (2) Recruitment of employees in each recognized private school shall be made on the recommendation of the Selection Committee. (3) Selection Committee shall consist of :
(a) in the case of recruitment of the head of the school,:
(i) (iv)
(b) in the case of an appointment of a teacher (other than the head of the school),:-- 5
(i) - (V)
(c) in the case of an appointment of any other employee, not being an employee belonging to 1["Group D"].
(i) (iv)
(d) in the case of an appointment of a Group 'D' employee:--
(1) (9)"
Rule 111 is about the Leave of absence "Every employee of a recognized private school, whether aided or not, shall be entitled to such leave as are admissible to employees of a corresponding status in government schools."
Rule 112 explains the confidential reports (1) "Confidential reports in relation to the heads of schools and other employees or recognized schools, whether aided or not, shall be maintained in form specified by the Administrator in this behalf.
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(4) The confidential report shall be recorded, every year, by the head of the school in respect of the employees working under him and every such confidential report shall be reviewed by the managing committee.
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(8) The confidential report in relation to the head of the school shall be kept in the safe custody of the chairman of the managing committee and the confidential reports in relation to the other employees of the school shall be kept in the safe custody of the head of the school." (9) Rule 180 says that the Unaided recognized schools have to submit returns "(1) Every unaided recognized private school shall submit returns and documents in accordance with Appendix II.
6 (2) Every return or documents referred to in subrule (1), shall be submitted to the Director by the 31st day of July of each year.
(3) The account and other records maintained by an unaided private school shall be subject to examination by the auditors and inspecting officers authorized by the Director in this behalf and also by any officers authorized by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India." The Appendix II deals with Returns to be submitted by UnAided Recognized Schools:
"1. Budget estimates of receipts and payments of ensuing year.
2. Final Accounts i.e. receipts and payment account, income and expenditure and balance sheet of the preceding year, {duly audited by the Chartered Accountant).
3. Enrolment of students as on 30th April.
4. Pattern of concessions/scholarship, etc.
5. Staff statement.
6. Schedule of fees/fines/funds, etc.
7. Statement showing the dates of disbursement of salaries."
Rule 184 mandates that the Managing committee to offer facilities for inspection: The rule is states "Every managing committee shall provide all reasonable facilities for the inspection of the school and also for the inspection of its account books, registers and other documents required by these rules to be maintained by such schools." Rule 190 deals with the Inspection and supervision of schools : (1) "The Director shall be responsible for the supervision and inspection of all recognised schools, whether aided or not.
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(6) Every person, other than the Director, inspecting a school shall, within fifteen days from the completion of the inspection, submit to the Director, the report as to the 7 results of the inspection, and shall simultaneously send a copy of the report to the school concerned.
(7)(8) ...."
Rule 192 explains Inspection how to be made : (1) "Every inspection shall be as objective as possible and shall be aimed at bringing about improvements in the standards of teaching in the school. (2) In making the inspection the following items shall be critically examined, namely:--
(3)
(a).....
(g) accounts of the school and their maintenance;
(j)......
(4) ....."
Rule 194 deals with the Inspection report : "The report of very inspection shall be made in Form No. V and shall contain information with regard to each matter specified in that Form."
7. All these rules explain what types of documents are needed to be furnished by the schools to the public authority, which has to 'hold' that information, which can be sought by the citizen under RTI Act, 2005.
8. From the combined reading of Delhi School Education Act & Rules 1973 it can be seen that there is definite inherent power with the Department of Education through its Director for having significant amount of information about the schools in the form of the returns submitted to it.
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9. In view of the above provisions of law, it is not correct for public authority to say that the record pertaining to appointment, salary, ACR is not available with them, because they are bound by law to maintain that. Hence, when a Citizen seeks a copy of any of the above documents which are available with the respondent authority they have to share with the Citizens as per the RTI Act.
10. Thus the Commission directs the respondent authority to instruct its officers to collect information as within the provision stated above and provide the necessary information to the citizens as per the RTI Act. The Commission also directs the respondent authority to perform its duty of securing the regulatory information as per the Act and Rules and see that the concerned School also explains the delay for not responding to the direction of the regulatory authority, namely, Dte. of Education, as the delay led to obstruction in furnishing of information to the appellant, who has the right to information. It certainly amounts to the violation of right to information of the citizen resulted from breach of statutory duty of concerned school to furnish that information to the public authority, and also omission by the Respondent Department of Education in exercising their statutory authority in regulation of schools. If the concern schools still resist furnishing of information, the Commission directs the respondent authority to take necessary action as per Delhi Education Act and rules, against such school if not the respondent authority would be liable to penalty under Section 20 of RTI Act.
11. The Commission directs the concerned school over which the Respondents have statutory authority to receive stipulated information, to furnish the same information to the department, and department is directed to take action as per law and rules against defaulting School management.
12. These directions should be complied with by the respondent authority and school, within ten days from the date of receipt of this order. The Commission orders accordingly. 9
13. A copy of the order is sent to Secretary, Department of Education, GNCTD for compliance.
(M. Sridhar Acharyulu) Information Commissioner Authenticated true copy (Ashwani K. Sharma) Designated Officeer Address of the parties:
1. The CPIO under RTI Govt. of NCT of Delhi O/o Dy. Director of Education(DDE) (North West Dist), FU Block Pitampura Delhi110088
2. Ms. Rajwanti Aggarwal B-8/127, Sector-03, Rohini Delhi-110085 COPY ALSO FORWARDED TO THE FIRST APPELLATE AUTHORITY FOR SERVING THE ORDER ON THE R.R.GITA BAL BHARTI PUBLIC SCHOOL, SULTANPURI, DELHI-86 WITH REFERENCE TO PARA 10 OF THE ABOVE ORDER:-
3. The Regional Director of Education(North) &
4. The First Appellate Authority under RTI 10 GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI Directorate of Education G.CoEd.S.V.Building, F/U Block, Pitampura DELHI110034 COPY ALSO SENT TO SECRETARY, EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, GNCTD, DELHI AS PER PARA 13 OF THE ORDER:
5. Secretary, Department of Education, Govt. of NCT of Delhi, Secretariat, I.P.Estate, New Delhi110002.11