80% fail LLM first semester exams, students blame ‘faulty’ assessment

A professor from the department of law said that the high rate of failure could be a result of the university rushing the assessment.

The Master of Law (LLM) students at the University of Mumbai (MU) alleged that they were wrongly failed by the examiners, after an unusually high number of students were unable to clear the first semester examination in January.

The students claimed that the re-examinations — that will be held on April 5 — have left them little time to prepare for the examination. (File photo)

The students said that around 80% of the 600 first year LLM students failed the exam. Even professors admitted that the percentage of students who failed the exams this year was significantly higher. Sixty percent of the students who had taken the exam last year had failed it.

The students claimed that the re-examinations — that will be held on April 5 — have left them little time to prepare for the examination.

“I was declared fail in two papers which I thought had written well. Several experienced and practising advocates failed in as many as four subjects this time,” said an LLM student.

A professor from the department of law said that the high rate of failure could be a result of the university rushing the assessment. “I have learnt that the papers were assessed within a couple of days by visiting faculty,” he said.

The student groups have, meanwhile, demanded re-assesment of the papers. “The university should re-check all the papers and penalise the errant examiners,” said Nimesh Savla, vice president of Citizen Forum for Change student youth wing.

The department of law at MU said that it would look into the issue. “The pass percentage might be slightly lower this year, but this could be because of [poor] performance of the students. We will discuss the matter at a faculty meeting on Thursday,” said Rashmi Oza, head of the law department.

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