Right to Information

1. Who has the right to information?
• All citizens of India have the right to information.
2. What information do you have the right to ?
• Under the RTI Act, you have the right to:
• Inspect documents, recodes and public works.
• Take notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records.
• Take certified samples of material used for public works.
• Obtain information in the form of diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or in any other electronic mode of through printouts.
3. Whom must the application be made to ?
• The application must be made to the Public Information Officer of the concerned department.
4. Is there an application fee ?
• Yes. The application fee is 10/-. It is to be paid by cash/demand draft/bankers cheque/court fee stamp.
• The fees regarding information are:
• 2/- for information on A4/A3 size paper. In case of a bigger size paper of paper, then actual cost of paper.
• For inspecting records: free for the first one hour. 5/- charged for every fifteen minutes after that.
• 50/- per diskette/floppy for information provided on diskette/floppy.
• Samples/models: actual cost of sample/model.
• Written information: actual cost of publication.
5. What is the time limit for receiving information?
• Information has to be given/rejected by the Public Information Officer within:
• 30 days for ordinary information.
• 48 hours for application seeking information regarding a person's life and his freedom. This is so because these are more critical issues.
6. What information can be rejected by the Public Information Officer?
• Any information that would affect the independence and unity of India.
• Any information that a court or tribunal (court-like body) has forbidden from being published.
7. What do you do if your application is rejected or you are aggrieved with the order?
• You can file an appeal with the Appellate Authority in the same department within 30 days from the date on which the order was given.
• You can file an appeal against the order of the Appellate Authority with the State Information Commission within 90 days from the date on which the order was gien by the Appellate Authority.

Source: Vogue November'14 issue.

Right to Education

Did you know?

• Every child of age 6-14 years has the right to free elementary education (classes 1 to 8).
• A school owned by the government has to provide free elementary education to all children admitted in the school.
• A school receiving aid/grants from the government has to provide free elementary education to a minimum 25 percent of their class strength.
• Unaided schools have to provide free elementary education to children from weaker sections and disadvantaged groups living within a km area around the school. These are explained below.
• "Child belonging to weaker section" means a child belonging to either of the following:
• Vimukta Jatis
• Nomadic Tribes (VJNT)
• Other Backward Classes (OBC)
• Special Backward Classes (SBC)
• The religious Minorities specified.
• Annual income of whose parent or guardian is below one lakh rupees:
• "Child belonging yo disadvantaged group" means a child belonging to:
• Scheduled Caste
• Scheduled Tribe
• Child with disability
• The school are not allowed to differentiate between these students and the regular students such as:
• Make them sit in different classes.
• Hold classes at different timings or at different places.
• There should be no discrimination or difference made with regards to uniform, books, library, extra-curricular, sports etc.
• School cannot differentiate between students with disabilities and other students.
• The school is not allowed to ask for money from you or your child for the free seat given to you under Right to Education (RTE) .If they do please report it to the local authorities.
• The school cannot make you pay any fee for the following:
• Writing a test
• Oral test
• Counselling
• Interviews
• Every application made for a free seat under RTE has to be made only when the certificate of proof is obtained/submitted. The following is a list of certificates needed:
• Birth certificate
• Income certificate from a Revenue Officer (Tahsildar and above)
• Cast certificate for the parents and child, made by the Deputy Collector or Sub Divisional Officer (Revenue).
• For disabled children, they have to have a certificate from the Civil Surgeon.
• Proof of Residence: 
• A school cannot deny admission to a child just because he does not have a birth certificate.
• A school cannot expel a child before completion of his elementary education.
• A school cannot hold back a child before completion of his elementary education.
• In case of complaints, you should approach the local authorities.

Source: Vogue November'14 issue.