Why shouldn’t RTI be applied to Self-Financed/private/unaided Engineering Institutes as we

Why shouldn’t RTI be applied to Self-Financed/private/unaided Engineering Institutes as well?

RTI must be applied to them also, because   

• (1)    Generally the Institute is managed by a Charity Trust registered with The Charity Commissioner.    
•     (2)    The Board of Trustees comprise of Trustees plus representatives from AICTE, affiliating University, Director of Technical Education, industrialists, academicians of the respective State etc.
•     (3)    The Institute is approved by the AICTE, New Delhi.
      (4)    The Institute is affiliated to the State University.
      (5)    The Institute is recognized by the Director of State Technical Education Board. 
      (6)     The fees are governed by The Fee Regulatory Committee of the State Government.
      (7)    The students are admitted through the Centralized Admission Committee of the State Government.
      (8)     The land is generally acquired from the State Government at a subsidized rate.
      (9)     The examinations are conducted by the affiliating University.
    (10)  The Degree is awarded by the affiliating University.
    (11)  AICTE provides grants for the Modernization of the Laboratories under MODROB scheme.
    (12)  AICTE provides grants to establish and run various Centers of Excellence /Activities.
    (13)  The accounts are audited by recognized Chartered Accountant and are submitted every year to the Charity Commissioner, affiliating University, AICTE, Director of State Technical Education Board.
    (14)  The Institute is member of various professional bodies like Indian Society for Technical Education, Computer Society of India, Institution of Engineers etc. and also get grants to organize seminars/workshops from them.
    (15)  The employees are members of EPFO for the Provident Fund.
    (16)  The employees members are insured for Gratuity with LIC of India.
    (17)  The employees are generally made member of Group Savings Linked Insurance of LIC of India.
    (18)  The Government reimburses fees of the poor students and the Girl Students admitted under Tuition Fee Waiver Scheme.
    (19)  The SC/ST students’ Tuition Fees and Hostel Fees are reimbursed by the State Government through the Institute.
    (20)  The employees are deputed for the election duty during State and Parliament elections.
    (21)  The Transporter gets subsidy in RTO Tax for the Transport Facility provided to the students for the buses/vehicles which are used exclusively for the Government Recognized Educational Institute.
    (22)  The Institute gets various tax exemptions/discounts while purchasing equipment, hardware, software, books for library, subscriptions to magazines, e-libraries etc.
    (23)  The appointment of teaching staff is as per AICTE Norms/State University Norms and interviews are conducted under the supervision of representatives appointed by the affiliating University and also the appointed teaching employees has to be recognized by the University Committee.
    (24)  The employees are allotted exam duties as supervisors/observers/squad members  and also have to assess the answer sheets compulsorily as allotted by the Controller of Examinations of the affiliating University. 
    (25)  In fact, the term Self-Financed Institute (SFI) itself is misnomer. These are Student-Financed Institutes because all the recurring expenses, especially the salary expenditures are financed by the students and hence the Fee Regulatory Committee governs the fees as per the strength and the  quality of the teaching staff, infrastructure and other essential facilities.
• Essentially, the SFI is fully governed and controlled by the Government Authorities like Grant-in-aid Institutes. Though they are not substantially financed by the Government,  they are reasonably financed indirectly by the Government as explained above. Also they are established for the sole purpose of Charity and get many financial and tax benefits from the Government for the charity.
• Though they are not substantially financed by the Government, they are substantially financed by the public i.e. parents of the students who pay huge amount of fees compared to the Government/grant-in-aid Institutes. Also they enjoy many tax benefits as well as get grants for many activities.
• The Trustees are supposed to be the custodians of the fees collected from the students and not the owner of the crores of rupees collected from the students. Hence, public and Government both being substantial stake holders, they should be termed as Students’ Financed-Institutes  and must be brought under RTI Act.
• Pro. Vinodray Parmar, Vadodara (9925388373)