Law universities to hold joint entrance exam

From next year students seeking admission to law universities in the country won’t have to apply separately to each Law university. They’ll have to sit for a joint entrance exam just like IIT aspirants do.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to hold a joint test was signed by heads of the NLUs in presence of representatives from University Grants Commission (UGC) and Bar Council of India (BCI) in Delhi on November 23.

The Law universities which have signed the MoU are: National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore; National Academy of Legal and Sociological Research (NALSR), Hyderabad; National University of Juridical Studies (NUJS), Kolkata; National Law Institute University (NLIU), Bhopal; National Law University (NLU), Gandhinagar; National Law University (NLU), Jodhpur; Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU), Raipur.

The UGC vice-chairman Prof Mooolchand Sharma and BCI chairman G K Nair were present in the meeting. Other law universities can also join the exercise being undertaken on the direction of the Supreme Court.

According to the MoU, the entrance test will most likely be held on the first Sunday of May 2008. A common admission form will be released for candidates. The NLSIU, Bangalore, will hold the first entrance test.

A core committee having directors and vice-chancellor of all the seven NLUs will frame a policy for the entrance test. The policy will be implemented by a committee headed by director, NLSIU, Bangalore, Jai Govind, and comprising registrars/
controllers of examinations of other six NLUs.

Dr Balraj Chauhan, director, NLIU, Bhopal, who was also present at the meeting, told reporters that all the students who had cleared the 10 plus 2 exam were qualified to take the entrance test. Admissions will be done on the basis of a merit list drawn up after the objective type test. All the reservations and state quota applicable in respective NLUs will continue as before. NLUs of Lucknow, UP, Patiala, Punjab and Kerela, would be given an option to take admission through the joint entrance test, he said.

The MoU has been signed at the initiative of the ministry of human resource development, which on directions of the SC asked the UGC to convince NLUs for a joint entrance test.