Students in a fix as Mumbai university’s law exams, Company Secretary tests set to clash
Students write to varsity, request for exams to be rescheduled; officials say papers may be postponed
The University of Mumbai (MU) has scheduled exams of three-year and five-year LLB (law) courses on the same dates as the Company Secretary (CS) examinations, making it impossible for CS aspirants to take both the tests.
The university had recently postponed 13 law examinations by a few days, after students demanded that the repeat exams — for students who did not clear a subject earlier — be held only after all the re-evaluation results of old exams are out. The move, however, resulted in some of the papers clashing with CS exam. CS aspirants, who are also pursuing law, have now written a letter to the university, requesting the authorities to reschedule the tests again, in order to avoid the overlapping of papers.
“The students had demanded the postponement of the repeat examinations, but the university changed the schedule of several regular exams as well. This decision was uncalled for,” said Srushti, a fourth-year BLS LLB (a five-year law course) student at a city college. “The revised timetables have added to the students’ agony,” said Sachin Pawar, president, Students Law Council, a city-based students group.
The revised timetables of second and seventh semester exams of BLS LLB and third and fifth semester exams of three-year LLB are overlapping with CS exams, which will be held between December 21 and 30. While the exact number of CS aspirants in law courses couldn’t be estimated, the students said they received complaints from around 200 students in the city.
Clashing of the university exams and other competitive tests has become a recurring issue. Last month, the university had to change the dates of BCom and law exams to allow students to take the Chartered Accountancy (CA) test. An official from the university said that being an autonomous body, the university often doesn’t consider other competitive tests while planning its examination. He also said that while The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, which conducts CA exam, intimates the university about its exam schedule, the varsity doesn’t receive such information from The Institute of Company Secretaries of India, which conducts CS exam.
The official said that the university will likely further postpone the examination. “We are considering the request made by the students. A decision will be taken shortly,” he said.