Mumbai - Law admisison even with Zero score in CET

The Law college admission process, delayed by more than two months, is facing criticism yet again, this time from teachers.

Law professors said the eligibility criteria was unfair and could compromise quality of lawyers passing out of colleges in the state.

According to the criteria, all aspirants who have taken the state Common Entrance Test (CET) are eligible for admissions to three-year and five-year LLB courses, even if they score a zero.

Earlier, students and colleges had been confused about the eligibility criteria but on August 4, the Director of Higher Education clarified in a meeting in Pune that students scoring zero would also be allotted seats.

The meeting was attended by all law college principals in the state.

“If a student scoring a zero can get a seat in a law college, it is unfair on students who prepared for the entrance test,” said Ashok Yende, a law professor and the former head of law department.

“Students graduating from law colleges become professional lawyers. Allowing poor performers to take admission would mean no quality check at the entry-level,” said UK Nambiar, principal of a law college in Navi Mumbai.

Yende said it was essential to have quality checks especially at a time when the law education in the state was not at par with the guidelines of the Bar Council of India.

“The syllabus taught at colleges has not been revised in more than five years,” said Yende who said students were taught old laws in the classrooms and they were not taught the practicalities of the laws.

“Until last year, students were taught and examined on the old Companies Act, 1956, although the Act was amended in 2013,” he said.
 

“In such a situation, if students coming into colleges are not academically sound or sincere, they will not make competent lawyers,” according to Nambiar.

“Law is a professional course just like medical and engineering courses. If admission to medical and engineering colleges have a quality check, so should law colleges,” said Rashmi Oza, head of Department for Law of the University.

Yende said the law education system, including admissions and syllabus, needed a ‘complete overhaul’.

(Source : The Indian Express)