NLSIU-B’luru opts out of CLAT, triggers row
Aspirants seeking admission in NLUs need to take 3 tests
The decision of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, to opt out of the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2020 has received major backlash from students as well as the governing body of the Consortium of National Law Universities (CNLU).
The NLSIU-B decided on Thursday not to consider the CLAT for admission to its fiveyear integrated BA LLB (Hons) programme for
2020-21 due to the Covid
19 pandemic. In a notification, NLSIU said that candidates seeking admission in the university will have to apply directly and complete the National Law Aptitude Test (NLAT) UG entrance exam.
The sudden announcement has triggered chaos and panic among law aspirants, especially due to the short notice. The university opened the application process on Thursday and will run till September 10. The exam will be conducted on September 12 in an online home-based mode.
Students have blamed the CNLU for the constant postponements in CLAT, which forced NLSIU to take this decision, which is arbitrary and unjustified, one student said. Another law aspirant, Samhita Atreya, who has been focusing on admission to the NLSIU, said, “It is a big curveball thrown at us. It came as a complete shock. We have no choice now but to prepare for this last stretch.”
With the introduction of a new entrance test, students who wish to study in an NLU will have to take three exams — All India Law Entrance Test (AILET) for NLU Delhi, NLAT for NLSIU and CLAT for the rest. Students complain that all three have different exam patterns.
Law aspirant Samaa said that considering that NLAT will be a 45minute home-based exam, it has closed the opportunity for several students who may not have access to proper internet connectivity or a set-up at home. “It has gone against the idea of uniformity and accessibility for students, that is part of the CLAT,” she said.
Meanwhile, the governing body of the consortium in an emergency meeting held on Friday resolved to request the NLSIU to reconsider its decision of holding its own test. The governing body resolved that the decision is in violation of Rule 15.3.3. of consortium bylaws as all members of the consortium are duty-bound to admit students only through CLAT.
The governing body resolved that in case NLSIU sticks to its decision, it cannot remain associated with the CLAT-2020 and all financial and administrative decisions will have to be taken by Prof. Balraj Chauhan, CLAT-2020 convener, and the Secretariat of the consortium may be shifted out of NLSIU.
Dr Faizan Mustafa, Vice-Chancellor of NALSAR University, added that the governing body had been very disappointed by the NLSIU decision. While the decision was taken in August, the NLSIU authorities never discussed or mentioned it in the consortium executive committee meetings even when it was decided to postpone CLAT 2020 from September 7 to September 28.
Dr Mustafa said, “It is unfair on students at the time of the pandemic. Conducting just one common exam is a herculean task in these times, adding another one is not justified.”
According to reports, the NLAT UG 2020 will be conducted in English. The test will be for 80 marks. There will be multiple choice questions (MCQ) and candidates will get 45 minutes to answer. There will be 2 marks for each correct answer, 0.25 marks will be deducted for an unanswered question, and 0.50 marks will be cut for every wrong answer. Students will get only one attempt at each question. They will not be allowed to revisit the question.