Private schools not under RTI, but officials cannot refuse info sought by public

School managements had alleged that some RTI activists, DDPIs and Block Education Officers were ‘misusing’ the RTI Act, and coercing schools to provide information, even though they do not receive any grant from the government.

While the Right to Information (RTI) Act does not directly apply to private unaided schools, the Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL) has issued an order asking officials to provide information on any query from the public about admission, affiliation, recognition and other details when sought through them.

The DSEL has issued this circular in response to a petition filed by the Registered Unaided Private Schools’ Association (RUPSA), Karnataka, a body of private schools that had sought appropriate direction to the Deputy Directors of Public Instruction (DDPIs) and RTI activists regarding unaided private educational institutions not covered under the RTI Act, 2005.

What petition said

In its petition, RUPSA had alleged that some RTI activists, DDPIs and Block Education Officers were ‘misusing’ the RTI and coercing schools to provide information, even though they do not receive any grant from the government.

Following this, DSEL has said that since private schools are not public authorities, RTI activists are not allowed to apply directly to a private unaided school, and officials cannot transfer any application under RTI to them as per the Act. However, it is the responsibility of the controlling officers of private schools to provide the documents or information related to private unaided schools. The responsibility of providing the information, in turn, has to be performed by the departmental officers concerned when it is sought by the public, the circular states.

No direct transfer

Further, DSEL said that it has been found that information officers of some taluk transfer applications submitted under the RTI to the school managements under Rule-6 (3) seeking documents. Since private unaided schools are not allowed to transfer applications under the RTI Act as per rules, they have instructed the taluk level information officers to take action to provide information at their level as per rules.