IGNOU to offer Right to Information (RTI) courses from next year

The “people’s university”, IGNOU, which has always striven to build a knowledge-oriented society by opening up education to one and all, now brings yet another socially relevant course. The Faculty of Public Administration at IGNOU’s School of Social Sciences in collaboration with the Central Information Commission (CIC) is planning to offer certificate as well as diploma courses in Right to Information Act (RTI.)

Government employees would be taught these courses as part of their training, but they would also be open to the general public (and even the prisoners.)

While the specifics of the Post Graduate Diploma in Right to Information (PGDRTI) have already been finalized, the certificate course is still being drafted. The diploma course will be rolled out in the January 2017 cycle, while the certificate course will be available sooner, by the July 2016 cycle.

“We realized that people know that they can seek certain information through RTI but they are not aware of the technicalities such as how to go about the process, how to frame the questions, how and where to make further appeals and much more,” IGNOU vice chancellor Nageshwar Rao told PTI.

Full credits to IGNOU for introducing a much needed course! What remains to be seen is the effective delivery of this course and its impact on the general public.

The national open university has also formulated a special course for the central government employees to improve their performance & develop skills. Known as the Distance and E-Learning Programmes for Government Employees (DELPGE), these courses will be available free of cost from January 2016.

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