Reported by Poulomi Ghosh in The Statesman on 20 July 2012

RTI trouble: Students eager to know marks of their beloved


source:http://www.thestatesman.net/index.ph...17386&catid=72

KOLKATA, 20 JULY: The Right to Information (RTI) Act has put the examination authorities in a fix, as most of the applications submitted after the publication of results seek to know the marks obtained by other examinees, the disclosure of which is ethically unacceptable at present.

In most cases, prospective brides or grooms are the applicants: they have no better way to cross-check the claims of their prospective spouses, said an official of the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE).

Following the implementation of the provisions of the RTI Act from this year, both the WBBSE and the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) have received applications asking about the marks of other examinees.

The authorities are dithering about answering these applications, as the responsibility of protecting the privacy of the examinees also lies with them. Hence, the applications are still lying unanswered in the cell.

"We are not supposed to disclose X’s information to Y. But after receiving so many applications of this nature, we have discussed this issue and there cannot be any single answer to this kind of applications,” said a WBCHSE official.

“We have to ask the applicant why he or she wants to inquire about the marks obtained by another examinee. If the reason is not justified, we will not answer to those applications," the official said.

But outright refusal of the applications might create more hassles as the applicants, upon being denied, can appeal to the information commission against the authorities, said an RTI activist.

According to the RTI Act, 2005, information which can be submitted to the legislative authority is subject to public knowledge. Hence, the Act empowers applicants to learn the details or marks of other examinees.

There is an exemption for information which, if disclosed, might hurt national integrity, added the activist, and marks may not fall in that category.

"Information can be of two different types ~ public and private,” said Prof. Chaitali Dutta, president of the WBBSE. "We can disclose private information to an applicant if it concerns the applicant only. But if the applicant has nothing to do with the private information, like the marks obtained by another examinee, we will not disclose such information."