RTI rescues student from unresponsive university
BANGALORE: After a university turned a blind eye to a student’s requests for marks rectification, the Right to Information (RTI) came to her rescue.
Mareena (name changed) had enrolled for BCom (correspondence) at Kuvempu University and gave first year examinations in September 2008. When the results were declared in February 2009, she was given 15 marks in theory in Sanskrit and no marks in practical even though she had given the exam.
She wrote to the University officials to apprise them of the error. When she did not get any positive response till November 2009, she approached RTI activist Kalidasa Reddy with her problem. Reddy filed an RTI seeking the attendance sheet of the exam of the student’s centre along with her answer scriptt.
When the University did not accede to the RTI request within the stipulated period of 30 days, the applicant approached Karnataka Information Commission (KIC).
In February 2010, KIC summoned the University and asked them to attend the hearing in March. After the summon was issued, Kuvempu University officials issued a marks card to Mareena, according her 44 marks in theory and 15 in practical.
Then, during the hearing, the University officials defended themselves by saying that they had issued the marks card.
Nevertheless, KIC ordered them to provide the required information to the applicants.
Reddy alleged that the University officials had misplaced the student’s answer scriptt, as she was the only candidate writing Sanskrit exam in that centre. “They misplaced it and therefore left a blank space in the marks card. When they got a summon from KIC, they just gave some marks and issued the marks card,’’ he said.
Source: The New Indian Express
Date: 13.04.2010
