India: RTI, CIC Brings deemed Universities under RTI Act.

India: RTI, CIC Brings deemed Universities under RTI Act.


Right to Information Act and Private or Deemed Universities
The Central Information Commission (CIC) has brought private and deemed universities and those private bodies, under the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.


Deemed universities gets its status by virtue of a notification used by the Central government under the UGC Act…Therefore, all deemed universities are public authorities as defined under the RTI Act,” said Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi. 

The order came while allowing an RTI appeal by Mumbai’s Mahavir Chopda on fee reimbursement. Gandhi asked a private university, Narsee Moranjee Institute of Management Studies, to provide information sought by April 20 free of cost.

The country’s transparency law covers privately managed, unaided deemed universities and are required to provide information sought under the RTI Act, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has ordered.
In the order dated March 31, 2009, the CIC has rejected exemption sought by the Narsi Monjee Institute of Management Sciences, a popular private deemed university that is unaided by the government

The CIC, by its order, has overruled an earlier order by the Rajasthan state information commission granting unaided deemed universities exemption from the RTI Act.

The order means deemed universities now have to reveal all information related to their funding, admissions, fees, and details pertaining to their management just as government educational institutions are required to under the RTI Act.

The CIC in its order has argued that public funding is not required for an institution to be covered by the RTI Act.

If your school or collage has got deemed university status from UGC then you are eligible to make use of RTI Act.

Just few examples of Such Universities are
Symbiosis group, the Narsi Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), the Bharatiya Vidyapeeth, the Vellore Institute of Technology and the Birla Institute of Technology, Pilani.