How are the colleges accredited?

The appellant sought for certain information from University Grants Commission (UGC) - a photocopy of the rules that education institutions cannot keep original documents of students such as marksheet, passing certificate, Migration certificate and other documents. He further asked for the number of members of NAAC team visit a college during inspection, the checks carried out by them, cost for NAAC inspection per college / per university, source of UGC revenue etc. Dissatisfied with the response received, the Appellant approached the CIC. The CIC observed that the appellant communicated to the Registry that he had received the requisite information and was not willing to pursue the second appeal any further. The CIC held that there is no scope for further intervention in the matter.

Comments

The UGC website contains some information on their website such as Annual reports. However, most of the information sought in the RTI application ought to have been provided suo-motu by the UGC. In this case, the CIC should have directed the UGC to put the information on their website. It would be prudent for the UGC to consider putting up a series of FAQ’s for the benefit of the students and their parents.

Citation: Abhishek Ranjan v. University Grants Commission, Second Appeal No. CIC/UGCOM/A/2023/622787; Date of Decision: 16.01.2024