Law school hopefuls lambast CLAT, demand answers

Students who appeared for the first online Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) for admission to 16 National Law Universities (NLUs) earlier this month complained about discrepancies in the test and have demanded that the answers to the questions in it be made public.

Students who appeared for the first online Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) for admission to 16 National Law Universities (NLUs) earlier this month complained about discrepancies in the test and have demanded that the answers to the questions in it be made public.

Students-standing-in-corridor-of-National-Law-School-Nagarbhavi-Bangalore-campus-Photo-by-Hemant-Mishra-Mint

The exam, held on May 9, was muddled with technical glitches and ambiguous questions. The test was conducted by Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University (RMLNLU), Lucknow and close to 45,000 students appeared for it. The results were announced on May 20 and took many candidates by surprise as they scored much less than they had expected to.

Students have raised concerns over many questions in the test being similar to those asked in the Common Admission Test (CAT), which is the entrance test for admission to the Indian Institutes of Management and other leading management schools.

“How can a law test have questions asked in a management exam? The online test was full of errors and the pattern was also different from that of the past years,” said Rishi Talreja, a law course aspirant from Allahabad.

Officials from RMLNLU said the pattern was largely unchanged and coaching institutes have instigated students to protest.

“Coaching classes charge lakhs of rupees as fees for the test-takers and misguide them about the pattern of the exam. They are now instigating students so that their teaching methods remain unquestioned,” said J Gangawar, registrar, RMNLU.