Now, become a certified RTI activist in five sessions
KC Law College will start two courses on how to file precise RTI applications from July………Yogita Rao
KC Law College will start two courses on how to file precise RTI applications from July………Yogita Rao
You no longer need to be bogged down by the tricky loopholes in the Right to Information (RTI) Act or be taken for a ride by officials. A law college in South Mumbai has started a course that will help citizens become certified RTI activists who know the nuances of filing an RTI application the right way.
KC Law College, Churchgate, is starting two courses on RTI a foundation course and an advanced course, which would be the first of their kind in the country. The idea is to teach people the fundamentals of filing RTI applications.
People need to learn how to ask for information. It is a wonderful weapon available to us and we should make full use of it, said Neelima Chandiramani, the colleges principal. People do not even know how to ask to-the-point questions and end up writing long-winded applications.
The idea of starting the course was a result of brainstorming between Chandiramani and activist Shailesh Gandhi, who will be conducting the sessions. The course will begin from July and will run into five sessions of three hours each. The classes will be held on Saturdays and Sundays.
Most of the course will be based on practical assignments, with candidates filing applications on topics given by the college. While both the courses will be open for all, the college expects people who have already filed applications to enroll for the advanced course.
Gandhi said, Information officers sometimes fool people if the questions are not direct. Though there is no perfect solution to avoid such discrepancies, the course will help people fine tune their skills as RTI activists. Gandhi said 95% of the applications he filed never exceeded 150 words.
Mahesh Vaswani, the chairman of legal aid committee of GJ Advani Law College, said, Filing applications should be made as easy as clicking the mouse on a computer. The committee had conducted RTI workshops for slum dwellers in 20 suburbs in the western region.