The Delhi University earned over Rs 3 crore in fees paid by students for either revaluation or rechecking their answer-sheets and for providing photocopies of answer-sheets to them between 2015-16 and 2017-18, an RTI has revealed.According to the information provided by the university, it earned Rs 2,89,12,310 for revaluation alone between 2015-16 and 2017-18.During the same period, it earned Rs 23,29,500 for rechecking and Rs 6,49,500 for providing students copies of answer-scripts evaluated.
According to DU rules, one will have to pay Rs 1,000 for revaluation of a single copy and Rs 750 for rechecking of the answer script. Rechecking only means re-totaling of the marks. Students will have to pay the same amount if they want to get a photocopy of the answer script. The information regarding the income generated was shared by the DU in response to an RTI application filed by a former student.He has demanded that he be allowed the inspection of his answer-script free of cost as per a certain RTI section which allows inspection of public records.
“I had filed an RTI seeking inspection of my answer-script in 2016.My plea dragged on for two years and I had to take recourse to the CIC (Central Information Commission) which ordered the university to let me inspect the answer-script as per RTI’s Section 2(j).The RTI Section 2(j) lays down that a person can access records kept under any public authority for, among other purposes, “inspection… taking notes, extracts” said the former student.
The Central Information Commission (CIC) in its August 18 decision ordered the Delhi University to allow the applicant inspection of his answer copy in “larger public interest‚Äù.When he was not allowed the inspection of his answer-sheet even after the CIC decision, the former DU student approached the Public Information Officer of the university later in the month through another RTI, who told him that the university’s Examination Branch (which keeps the answer-sheets) has decided to challenge the verdict.
Earlier,the university officials had contended against allowing of inspection of answer-sheets as per the RTI Act provisions, saying that doing so ‚Äúwould render their existing mechanism of providing hard copies redundant”.The Respondent apprehended that allowing inspection of files would render their own mechanism of providing certified copy of answer-scripts as per the fee prescribed in their regulations as meaningless, since the candidates would certainly opt for inspection as per RTI Act, 2005, the CIC noted in its verdict.
