Finally, NLSIU decides to conduct its own exam NLAT on Sep 12

Bengaluru: The National Law School of India University (NLSIU) on Wednesday announced that it will hold its own examination 'NLAT' on September 12. The university has refused to accept the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), but the technical requirements for the NLAT will put aspiring law students at a disadvantageous position.

"Only desktop computers and laptops will be allowed. The use of tablets and other mobile devices, including phones shall not be supported nor permitted in the NLAT 2020. 1 Mbps minimum the remote proctoring software streams exam data, including audio and video, directly to the cloud as you take the NLAT 2020. In order to allow the continuous transfer of exam data, the specified minimum connection speed must be maintained at all times," the NLSIU exam requirements.

The move was slammed by former Justice M.F. Saldanha who told The Hans India, "To my mind every single student matters and it is the duty of the government to ensure that a hundred percent fair opportunity is available at the exam. If any factor invalidates this happening a second opportunity will have to be provided in order to save the year. The students cannot suffer."

The law university has, however, stated that Covid-19 pandemic caused unforeseen difficulties and delays in the conduct of CLAT 2020. It claimed that the repeated postponement of the examination has resulted in uncertainty for students, parents and the participating Universities. "NLSIU is uniquely disadvantaged as it follows a trimester system where every academic year is made up of three terms of 90 days duration. Moreover, each term must accommodate 60 hours of classroom instruction in each course and adequately provide for examination and evaluation processes. Further, the academic offering for the 3rd, 4th and 5th year of the B.A., LL.B programme as well as the LL.M programme is fully integrated and requires a common academic calendar. Hence, if NLSIU is unable to complete admissions before the end of September 2020 it will inevitably result in a ero Year‟ with no admission. Hence, NLSIU is compelled by the current circumstances to conduct a separate admissions process for the B.A., LL.B and LL.M programmes for the Academic Year 2020-2021," the NLSIU exam notification stated. V.N. Rajashekar, a member of the Save Education Committee, Karnataka called the move discouraging for students.

"Any method of examination should be uniform and accessible to all. If you want to introduce online exams not a single student should be deprived, and if a student cannot take up an exam for the want of technical requirements this is highly deplorable.So the method that puts meritorious students and those with underprivileged backgrounds is discouraging," he said.

An NLS aspirant from Raichur in Karnataka talked to the reporter on the condition of anonymity that he cannot take up the exam because "I do not have a laptop. Even if I borrow from my friend the requirement of maintaining 1 Mbps speed is unreasonable. How can such a prestigious university assume that candidates from small towns across the country can take up exams with these requirements? This is unconstitutional as the method of conducting the exam itself is creating disparity."