DU earns over Rs 3 cr in revaluation fees, fights against bringing answer-sheets under RTI
New Delhi, Sep 1 : 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.
As per university rules, students have to shell out Rs 1,000 for revaluation of a single copy and Rs 750 for rechecking of the answer-script -- which means only re-totalling of the marks -- and same amount has to be paid for obtaining photocopy of answer-script also.
The information regarding the income generated was given by the varsity in response to an RTI application filed by a former Delhi University student, who had 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 university is yet to allow me the inspection of my answer-script. It has said it will pursue the matter further at the high court," the former law student told IANS.
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".
The applicant said had he been allowed the inspection of his answer-script, and in case any discrepancy found, he would have asked for the re-totalling/ revaluation to be done by the university free of charge, since he is not bound to pay for the mistakes made by the university.
"This is a grave issue of public interest. Not every one is rich enough to spend Rs 1,000 or Rs 750 for revaluation. Also logically, if discrepancy is found, the university should be duty-bound to correct it without cost... They (university administration) are making students pay for the mistakes they made," he said.
The Central Information Commission (CIC) in its August 18 decision had ordered the Delhi University to allow the applicant inspection of his answer copy in "larger public interest".
"... The Commission felt that issue under consideration involved larger public interest affecting the fate of all students who wish to obtain information regarding their answer-sheet/ marks.
"Hence allowing inspection of their own answer sheets to the students ought to be allowed as per the provision of the RTI Act, 2005," the Commission said, adding that the applicant be allowed the inspection of his answer-sheets within 15 days of this letter.
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, before the CIC, the university officials had contended against allowing of inspection of answer-sheets as per the RTI Act provisions, saying that doing so "would 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 would certainly opt for inspection as per...RTI Act, 2005," the CIC noted in its verdict.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
