TAMILNADU INFORMATION COMMISSION No.2,Thiyagaraya Road, Teynampet, Chennai - 600018. Telephone: 044 - 24347590 Date of Enquiry : 07.09.2017- F.N. PRESENT : Thiru K. RAMANUJAM, I.P.S.,(Retd.), STATE CHIEF INFORMATION COMMISSIONER. Case No. SA 4839/D/2017 M. Kanagavel ….. PETITIONER / APPELLANT - Vs. - Annamalai University ...... PUBLIC AUTHORITY ORDER Petition filed u/s 6(1) of RTI Act, 2005 : 18.04.2017 Petition transferred to DDE Section u/s 6(3) : 20.04.2017 Public Information Officer’s Reply : 26.04.2017 First Appeal : 03.05.2017 First Appellate Authority’s Reply : 23.05.2017 Second Appeal : 15.06.2017 Dr.T.Srinivasan, Deputy Director–II/Public Information Officer, Directorate of Distance Education, Annamalai University is present. The petitioner has sent a letter to the Commission seeking adjournment of the enquiry citing personal reasons. He was informed by mail that the enquiry cannot be postponed at short notice but if any additional points were sent by the petitioner they would be taken into consideration. No response was received from the petitioner nor is he present for the enquiry. 2) The petitioner had asked for information on the following lines: i) Jurisdiction of Annamalai University for affiliation of colleges and for distance education ii) Letters of approval by the Distance Education Bureau of UGC for distance education courses form 2013 to 2018 iii) Regulations authorising conduct of distance education programme without approval of UGC iv) Approval of UGC for Astrology courses v) Regulations about refund of fees. 3) The Public Information Officer has given a broad reply: “The erstwhile Distance Education Council had given recognition for the programs offered by the Directorate of Distance Education, Annamalai University vide F.No. DEC/AMU/TN/Recog/2012/ 13990-13992 dated 21.8.2012. The DEC had directed that the territorial jurisdiction of state universities will be as per their Act and Statutes but not beyond the boundaries of their respective States. The Annamalai University Act was amended which got the assent of the President of India and a gazette notification was made which empowers the university to offer distance education programs all over the country and abroad without any territorial restriction. In addition, university went to court for judicial remedy and the Hon’ble Madras High Court in W.P. No. 30039 of 2012 and in W.P. No. 27185 of 2015 has permitted the university to continue the conduct of various programs in graduate, post-graduate, diploma, post-graduate diploma and certificate courses under distance mode without any territorial limit.” 4) The Appellate authority has informed the petitioner that he could visit the office and peruse the documents with prior permission of the Director of Distance Education. 5) In the Second Appeal, the petitioner has complained that the information was not complete and that copies of materials were not supplied. 6) It is seen that the reply has not answered all the points raised by the petitioner. For instance, there is no reference to the Astrology course about which the petitioner has sought specific information. No copies of documents were supplied though the petitioner had asked for copies of supporting material. 7) It is noted from the documents available that the petitioner, after completing BE in Electronics and Communication Engineering, joined M.A. Astrology distance education course run by this university in the year 2013. He did not attend Personal Contact Programme nor did he write any examination. By 2017, he seems to have realised that the course did not have the approval of UGC. He addressed the Director of Distance Education on 05.04.2017 to inform him whether UGC approval had been obtained for the course to enable him to continue the studies and to write examination. Alternatively, he sought refund of Rs.8,000 paid by him as fees for two years. 8) From the records produced by the Public Information Officer, it appears that this petitioner has filed two different RTI petitions, one dated 18.04.2017 and another dated 15.06.2017 and he has also sent a requisition for documents u/s 74 and 76 of Indian Evidence Act and a couple of litigation notices. 9) In a response dated 16.05.2017 to one of these letters, the Director of Distance Education has stated that since MA Astrology Programme was not covered under “Job oriented” and / or “educational qualification”, the question of approval from UGC, Distance Education Council (DEC) did not arise. This letter also states the following :- i) In spite of trade, educational reforms and development, a large number of students/general public are left out/away from systematic stream of education in the field of astrology. ii) M.A. Astrology is not a conventional programme like Arts & Science subjects (viz., History, Economics, Mathematics, Physics, etc.,) iii) The concept and aim to offer this programme under Distance Mode (Self Learning Mode) is to make the students – Adults – fully aware of what Astrology is (which is a part of our civilization / culture) and to educate them on the basic as well as the essential part of it so that they can be acquainted with the subject. iv) The M.A. Astrology programme is offered only after the recommendation and approval of the General Regulatory Bodies (Academic Council and Syndicate)”. 10) In Letter No.B5/10054/2009 dated 07.12.2009 addressed to the Head of the Dept. of Tamil Studies and research, there is a reference to resolution No.2.16 of the meeting of the Academic Council held on 23.10.2009., approving the recommendations by the Board of Studies for introducing courses in Astrology. 11) This essentially answers the question in the RTI petition about approval for Astrology Courses. 12) The Public Information Officer informed that the courses on Astrology are run through a partner SASTRA of Madurai on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding between the university and this private institution. A Prospectus in the name of Annamalai University gives details of the Astrology courses – Certificate Course in Astrology, Diploma in Astrology, Advanced Diploma in Astrology, 3-year B.A. in Astrology and a 2-year M.A. Astrology, with total fees ranging from Rs.1,400 to 7,400. This Prospectus prominently displays the name and logo of Annamalai University but says less prominently that the Astrology programmes are run in collaboration with Saptharishi Astrological Sciences Training and Research Academy (SASTRA), Madurai. Theory and practical classes are reportedly held at SASTRA, Madurai. 13) It is learnt that the question of restricting territorial operation of the University in respect of Distance education was the subject matter of the writ petition in which an order dt. 12.03.2013 was issued by the Hon’ble High Court quashing the territorial limit restriction imposed by the Distance Education Council that as a State University, Annamalai University should not operate beyond the boundaries of the State. It is further reported that the UGC and the Distance Education Bureau have filed a writ appeal in 606 of 2015. Meanwhile, in the light of another order from the DEB, the University moved the Hon’ble High Court in W.P.No. 27185 in 2015 in which an interim stay of the direction of the DEB was issued, in effect permitting the University to run Study Centres outside the territorial limit. The order says that admissions made are subject to the result of further orders that can be passed by the Hon’ble Division Bench and that the University shall make this clear to the students who are to be admitted. It is not known if students seeking new admission are informed as directed in this order but there does not appear to be any caution to this effect on the website. 14) The Commission observed certain other contradictions between the reply furnished to the petitioner and clarifications given during the enquiry vis-à-vis information available in the public domain: i) The UGC website lists out Universities recognized for academic year 2016-17 for distance education programme as on 8.8.2017. There are only five Universities from Tamil Nadu in this list and Annamalai University does not find a place in this list. (However, another page in DEB website, viz. http://ugc.ac.in/deb/pdf/DistanceEducationInstitutions- Directorate%20DistanceEducation.pdf lists out 26 Universities from Tamil Nadu under the heading Distance Education Institutions/ Directorates of Distance Education.) ii) The Director of Distance Education had informed the petitioner that the MA Astrology Programme was not covered under “Job oriented” and / or “educational qualification” and hence the question of approval from UGC, Distance Education Council (DEC) did not arise. However, the webpage http://www.annamalaiuniversity.ac.in/dde/index.php says: “All the programmes of study offered by the Directorate of Distance Education have the approval of the Distance Education Council, New Delhi.” iii) A Public Notice in No.F.27-1/2012(CPP-II) dated 27th June, 2013 on the website of UGC says “The Commission has come across many advertisements published in national dailies offering opportunities for the award of university degrees through various franchise programmes conducted by certain private institutions. These private establishments claiming themselves as study centres or learning centres of different universities enroll students for various degree programmes and also claim to be responsible for teaching and conduct of examinations. The faculty and the infrastructure belong to these private agencies. The concerned university, except providing syllabus and teaching materials, has no mechanism to monitor and maintain the academic standards of teaching being imparted at these centres. This blatant compromise with the standards of education has led to widespread criticism.” This Public Notice further cautions: “No University, whether central, State, private or deemed, can offer its programmes through franchising arrangement with private coaching institutions even for the purpose of conducting courses through distance mode.” However, the Commission notes that the Astrology courses are being run through an entity which could possibly be considered a franchising institution.