Thursday, April 05, 2012
Misuse of RTI Act: attempt to collect personal details of students.
Manoramaonline: Kottayam: Thursday, April 05, 2012.
School authorities have brought to light attempts by persons to collect personal details of students from schools in the guise of invoking Right To Information Act.
Early indications are that it was the entrance coaching centres and nursing colleges behind the collection of data.
Responding to the developments, the RTI commissioner has said that there is no need to provide personal details of the students.
The questionnaire received by the CMS Higher Secondary School here asks to submit the the names and addresses of the guardians of the students studying in the school for Plus One in the 2011-2012 academic year.
A second demand was to submit the addresses of the guardians of the students appearing for Plus Two examinations.
Growing suspicious about the motive of the move the school authorities launched an enquiry and it was found that several schools had received similar questionnaires.
Most of the school authorities assume that the intention behind such attempts will be to canvas students for entrance coaching and nursing classes by collecting personal details of the students.
Reports say an enquiry launched by the school authorities have found that many students of the previous batched had fallen into the trap. The school authorities have even got the complaint of one parent who had fallen prey to the intentions of the coaching centres.
The complaint of the parent says some of the students who refused to join certain coaching centres had revived threats and that some who joined were subjected to mental as well as physical torture.
The school authorities who contacted the RTI commission were told that the Act does not make obligatory to submit any personal details of the students or parents.
The commission also asked concerned people to be on the alert against such practices.
Posted by M A G P at Thursday, April 05, 2012
