Self-financing educational institutions come under the purview of Right to Information Act : Information Commissioner

State Information Commissioner M. Sreekumar has said that self-financing educational institutions operating in the State with government permission will come under the purview of the Right to Information Act, 2005.

The commission has directed the Secretaries of the Departments of Higher Education, General Education, and Health to take immediate steps to appoint State public information officers and appellate authorities in self-financing educational institutions.

This intervention by the commission follows a reply given by the Principal of Amaravila CSI TTC recently to an RTI application from a Nelluvilla native stating that the institution does not come under the RTI Act.

The commission observed that self-financing educational institutions, which operate in accordance with the rules and regulations of the State under the Department of Education and have obtained government approval by submitting an undertaking, fall under the definition of a public authority and, therefore, come within the purview of Section 2(h) of the Right to Information Act, 2005.

The commission pointed out that these educational institutions receive various tax concessions from the government, MP/MLA funds for infrastructure development, various types of grants, fee concessions, and scholarships for students and low-interest educational loans from financial institutions.

The Union and State governments have included self-financing educational institutions in their financial schemes for educational development. State government-approved certificates are issued to students by these institutions. The commission noted that self-financing educational institutions are included in various schemes funded by the State government.

The commissioner pointed out that the Supreme Court had ruled that self-financing/private educational institutions can be considered public authorities. The commission directed the authority concerned to provide the information sought by the petitioner within 15 days and inform the commission of the action taken.