RTI for School and College Records: Marks, Scholarship, Transfer Certificate and Fee

Use this guide if (a) your or your child's marks look wrong; (b) the school is withholding the transfer certificate; © scholarship was sanctioned but not credited; (d) fee refund is pending after withdrawal; (e) you want to inspect your answer sheet; (f) the recognised college lost your migration certificate; (g) the recruitment cut-off list is opaque.

• RTI Act 2005, Sections 6, 7(1), 7(9), 8 and 10.
• Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009: every recognised school must maintain registers and accept transfers.
• University Grants Commission Act 1956 and UGC (Grievance Redressal) Regulations 2023.
• AICTE Act 1987.
• National Council for Teacher Education Act 1993.
• Central / State Board regulations: CBSE Examination Bye-Laws, ICSE Regulations, state board acts.

The Supreme Court in CBSE v Aditya Bandopadhyay, (2011) 8 SCC 497 held that an examinee has a right to inspect his evaluated answer sheet under the RTI Act, subject only to redaction of evaluator identity if applicable. Subsequent CIC decisions extended this to UPSC, SSC and university examinations.

1. Identify the right PIO. For schools, the Principal or the District Education Officer; for boards, the Secretary's RTI cell; for universities, the Registrar or Controller of Examinations; for AICTE / UGC, their respective RTI cells.
2. Pin the record. Roll number, registration number, admission number, scholarship reference number, fee receipt number, date.
3. Use the right Bye-Law. CBSE has Examination Bye-Laws that govern verification, photocopy and re-evaluation; UGC has consolidated regulations 2023; state boards have their own.
4. Draft the RTI. Ask for the answer sheet copy or inspection slot, marks tabulation register entry, moderation policy, scholarship roster, fee refund file movement, transfer certificate register, and reasons for delay.
5. Pay ₹10 fee (state-specific) and post by Speed Post AD to the PIO. Some boards accept online RTI.
6. Wait 30 days then escalate. For exam-result disputes, the verification window in board bye-laws may be shorter than 30 days, file the bye-law application first and the RTI in parallel.

To,
The Public Information Officer,
[Name of school / board / university]
[Full address]

Subject: RTI under Section 6 regarding [Marks / Answer sheet / Transfer Certificate / Scholarship / Fee Refund] of [Student name], Roll No. [number], for the academic year [year]

Sir / Madam,

I, [Full name], a citizen of India, [self / parent of] the student, request the following information under the RTI Act 2005. Fee of Rs. 10 paid by IPO no. [number].

For the student [Name], roll number [number], registration number [number], class / course [name], institution [name]:

For marks and answer sheet:
1. Certified photocopy of the evaluated answer sheet for [subject] of [exam date].
2. Step-wise marking scheme adopted, and the moderation policy applied.
3. Tabulation register entry for the student.
4. Date of declaration of result and the panel that declared it.

For scholarship:
5. Scholarship application receipt number, date and present status.
6. Sanction order, sanction amount, instalment schedule.
7. Bank credit advice from PFMS / DBT and the date of credit.
8. Reason for delay or rejection.

For transfer / migration certificate:
9. Date of application, present custodian and present location of file.
10. Pending dues, if any, with the basis for each demand.
11. Reason for the delay beyond the rule-prescribed period.

For fee refund:
12. Refund application receipt, sanction order, voucher number, mode of payment and bank advice.

I invoke Section 10 (severability) and Section 6(3) (transfer to right office). I undertake to pay further fee under Section 7(3).

Yours faithfully,
[Signature, name, date]

• Asking the PIO to “increase marks”. Re-evaluation is governed by board bye-laws and is a parallel route.
• Withholding the transfer certificate is illegal. RTE Act 2009 prohibits denial of admission or TC for non-payment of dues. Quote it.
• Mixing minority-aided and government-aided. Both are public authorities for RTI; the procedure is the same.
• Filing on behalf of an adult student. Adult student should sign or grant a written authorisation; otherwise PIO will invoke Section 8(1)(j).
• Forgetting moderation policy. Many disputes vanish once you see the moderation rule book, ask for it.

• No reply in 30 days → First Appeal under Section 19(1).
• Board route → File verification, photocopy and re-evaluation under board bye-laws within the prescribed window.
• UGC / AICTE complaint for fee, refund or transfer issues against universities and technical institutes.
• State Education Department for school-level grievances.
• High Court writ for systemic violations such as TC denial against RTE Act.

Yes, by the CBSE v Aditya Bandopadhyay (2011) ruling. Boards, universities and recruitment bodies must provide the evaluated copy.

Most state rules require it within 7 to 14 days of application. Cite the rule and ask for the file movement.

The RTE Act 2009 bars denial of TC and admission for non-payment of fees in respect of children aged 6 to 14. For higher classes, the school may demand fee receipts but cannot withhold the TC unreasonably.

Private unaided schools are not directly covered, but the District Education Officer and the recognising authority are, RTI to the DEO often produces inspection reports of private schools.

Ask for the PFMS / DBT credit advice. Often the file is stuck at the bank-account-validation stage.

Generally no, Section 8(1)(g) protects evaluator identity. But the marking scheme, moderation rule and tabulation entry are fully disclosable.

Through UGC and the state Fee Regulatory Committee, both of which are public authorities. RTI to them, not to the deemed university directly.

• Department of School Education and Literacy: dosel.gov.in
• UGC: ugc.gov.in
• AICTE: aicte-india.org
• CBSE: cbse.gov.in
• National Council for Teacher Education: ncte.gov.in

Last reviewed: 9 May 2026.

• AI RTI Drafter
• Guide hub
• How to file an RTI application
• RTI for recruitment exams
• RTI vs complaint
• RTI for missing government file
• First Appeal procedure