The Office of the District Educational Officer (DEO) declined the request for information from a Right to Information (RTI) activist, stating its stance against procuring data from other public authorities within its jurisdiction to provide it to the applicant.
RTI activist M. A. Akram sought information on four different administrative aspects connected to government school teachers, including the number of teachers who are currently on long leave.
In what came as a rude shock, the DEO’s office responded by stating that “it is beyond the scope of the Act for a public authority to collect the information from various public authorities to supply it to the applicant”. Mr. Akram was requested to submit applications to the office of the Deputy Educational Officer and Deputy Inspector of Schools that were functioning under the DEO’s office.
