Schools told to provide information to Nawanshahr-based RTI activist

Nawanshahr, June 18

The Education Department has issued orders to thousands of schools in response to a right to information (RTI) request filed by Nawanshahr-based activist Parvinder Singh Kitna. The request sought information regarding teachers who had gone for training abroad, including records of any changes in education after the training, a list of employees who underwent the training, and details of those who worked in other Education Department offices instead of schools.

Additionally, he requested clarification on the government’s claim of admitting one lakh (1,00,000) students in a single day. Specifically, he sought a district-wise list of enrolled students and information on how many students had withdrawn from the programme by the time the response was provided.

In response to the RTI request, the State Educational, Research and Training Council, Punjab, has directed all District Education Officers (Secondary and Elementary) to provide the remaining information, after initially providing incomplete details about the training programmes.

The RTI activist has emphasised that the work of schools should not be negatively impacted by this process. He highlighted that the Central Information Commission and Supreme Court have made rulings in favour of RTI requests and urged senior officials in the Education Department to address the matter appropriately.

He also urged against blaming the information-seeking activists for the delays in school work, saying the information is being sought for the betterment of Punjab schools, not otherwise. “When the State Education Department already has all this data with them, while bothering schools to compile data again. When 1 lakh students were enrolled, the department had shared the news with district-wise enrolment all across the social media, then why information not being shared through RTI, ‘’ he added.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a school principal acknowledged that similar RTI requests had been previously sent by senior officials to teachers, resulting in considerable time being spent on collecting the requested information.

Info on teachers’ overseas training sought

• The request sought information regarding teachers who had gone for training abroad, including records of any changes in education after the training, a list of employees who underwent the training, and details of those who worked in other Education Department offices
• In response to the RTI request, the State Educational, Research and Training Council, Punjab, has directed all District Education Officers (Secondary and Elementary) to provide the remaining information