Kashmir Reader: Srinagar: Wednesday, June 20, 2018.
The
Directorate of School Education Kashmir (DSEK) is denying substantial
information to a social activist even two months after filing a RTI, he
alleged.
Seeking
information about the district-wise and cadre-wise number of teachers attached
with various offices and their original place of posting in the School Education
Department, Gulzar Ahmad Wani, a social activist from Tangmarg in North
Kashmir’s Baramulla district had filed an application under the RTI Act-2009 at
the DSEK in April this year.
Anticipating
that the sought information would be provided to him within the maximum
stipulated period of one month, Wani has, however, turned doubtful as the DSEK
has not replied to his application even after more than 2 months, he said.
“The
application has reached the DSEK along with the registered postal stamp on April
19. It has been two months now, but they have not replied me yet,” Wani told
Kashmir Reader.
The RTI Act
2009 provides that the sought information be provided to the applicant “as
expeditiously as possible, and in any case within thirty days of the receipt of
the request…”
In case the
Public Information Officer fails to decide on the request for information, the
act says that he “shall be deemed to have refused the request”.
Apart from
seeking information on the teachers attached with various offices, Wani had
also asked for details from the DSEK about the “funds provided for cultural
trips”-both interstate and intra state for the “last ten years”.
Names and
number of students from each district of the state who participated in the
cultural tours for the last ten years were also sought by Wani in his RTI
application.
In his RTI
application, Wani has also asked for the details on the “total expenditure upon
these tour programmes…for the last ten years”.
Asked what
prompted him to seek details about the issues he, Wani said, “The orders by the
department claiming to end the teacher deployments in various offices every
year is only for show off and to deceive people”.
“There are
several influential people attached with the DSEK itself even as on date,” he
alleged.
“Besides,
there are hundreds of officials still attached at various offices in the
department,” added Wani.
Wani also
blamed the “trade unions” in the department who, as per him, were the
“shareholders” with the higher officials in the department.
“99 percent
corruption in the department is because of these unions,” he said.
Besides the
April’s application by Wani, he said that the DSEK altogether “rejected” an RTI
application filed by him earlier.
“They do not
want to present the true picture of the department before the masses. They are
hell bent to ruin the department,” he alleged.
Over his
seeking information on the expenditure on the cultural tours, Wani said, “The
Cultural Wing is operational at the DSEK for the last more than 25 years. It
gets yearly grants of around 40-50 lakhs for the inter-state and intra-state
cultural tours. They accommodate the blue eyed for these tours. A teacher who
genuinely teaches his students with dedication is left behind.”
Admitting to
the delay in disposing of Wani’s application, Public Information Officer DSEK,
Zahoor Ahmad Banday passed the buck to the “concerned Chief Education Officers”
who as per him had delayed furnishing the related information.
“We have
asked the concerned CEOs for furnishing the information,” Banday added.
Banday
however claimed that Wani’s application reached the DSEK ending April.
He asked Wani
to “wait for a week” for the sought information.
“If he does
not get the information within a week’s time, he can make an appeal to the 1st
appellate authority at the DSEK,” Banday said.
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