Private courses at Gujarat University now within RTI ambit: GIC, ETEducation

In an important order, the Gujarat Information Commission has stated that “Gujarat University‘s self-financed professional courses are to be considered ‘public authorities’ under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. The order now mandates GU to “furnish requested information for these courses,” thus expanding the RTI Act’s scope to “university-managed, self-funded educational programmes.”The decision was made during the hearing of an appeal related to information sought (on Feb 15) by former senate member Devdutt Rana regarding GU’s Centre of Professional Courses, Department of Animation. He had earlier requested the details about self-financed courses that GU had been offering since 2013.

Pavan Pandit, GU’s public information officer (PIO), denied Rana the information, arguing that the Centre of Professional Courses, operating under a “higher payment programme (HPP)”, was a self-financed institute and “sustained by student fees.” Therefore, it was asserted that “it did not fall under the definition of a public authority” under the RTI Act. GU later obtained a stay from the high court, arguing that private partner institutions were involved in running such courses.

However, state information commissioner Vipul Raval emphasised that GU’s HPP was entirely internal to the university, with no external private entity involved. The commission clarified that “administrative control, not just financial support, determines whether an entity qualifies as a public authority.” In its order, SIC highlighted that “the university exercises full control over the HPP, including decision-making, faculty appointments, audits and operations — all conducted within university premises.”

Raval clarified, “The Centre of Professional Courses, even if operating under HPP, is included in the definition of a public authority under Section 2(h)(1) of the Right to Information Act 2005, because Section 2(h)(c)(i) of the Right to Information Act 2005 clearly states that any authority, body or institution controlled directly or indirectly by the appropriate government is also included in a public authority.” The GIC thus ruled that “the HPP falls under the RTI Act’s purview”.