New Delhi, Feb. 5: Students sitting for any public examination will have to pay only Rs 2 per page to get a copy of their evaluated answer sheets, the Central Information Commission has said.

At present, different organisations charge different rates to give students a copy of their answer sheets to check if they have been assessed properly. For example, the CBSE charges Rs 500 for a copy while Delhi University charges Rs 750. 

The matter was taken to the CIC by Abne Ingty, a student, who complained about Delhi University’s Rs 750 fee for each application seeking a copy of the answer sheet. 

The CIC agreed that the Rs 750 fee puts an economic burden on students and held that rules requiring students to pay high fees for the answer sheets are in violation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. 

It referred to an earlier Supreme Court decision in a case relating to the CBSE in which the apex court had held that the assessed answer papers are “information” under the RTI Act. It also cited a judgment of Rajasthan High Court in which the court had ruled that a university’s fee of Rs 1,000 for each answer sheet was a violation of the object and purpose of the act. 

The CIC has directed the human resource development ministry, the University Grants Commission and the Association of Indian Universities to publicise in all academic/examining bodies the order fixing the fee at Rs 2 for a page. 

UGC member and Delhi University teacher Inder Mohan Kapahy welcomed the CIC ruling, saying it would improve credibility in the evaluation system and make teachers more accountable. 

“At present, there is not much seriousness in evaluation of papers,” he said. Making access to the evaluated copies cheaper will encourage more students to apply for them. This will expose laxity in assessment, he said.