New CLAT pattern to help select students with better legal acumen, says NALSAR VC
With a view to selecting students with a good understanding of languages and also the intricacies involved in legal processes in India, the Consortium of National Law Universities changed CLAT pattern that is scheduled to be held on May 10, 2020.
It was back in May, 2017, when a bemused Supreme Court bench stoked controversy by setting aside an eight-page Himachal Pradesh High Court judgement in a tenant-landlord dispute, which contained one entire page without a full stop, as it could not "comprehend the contents". The bench sent back a convoluted judgement to be re-drafted because it was simply "unintelligible".
This triggered massive response from legal experts who refer to a bouquet of similar orders showing why there's a dire need for verdicts written in simple English, without legalese. This was the same time that the Consortium of National Law Universities sensed the need of a massive overhaul on the entire system that baptizes freshers into the profession.
Changes in the exam pattern include tapering down the number of questions from 200 to 150. That apart, the question paper is now supposed to carry comprehension-based questions from Current Affairs, Deductive Reasoning, English, Logical Reasoning sections and Quantitative Techniques. Those appearing for CLAT PG must underscore that cut off marks have been included for LLM courses. Subjective answers will be evaluated only after one qualifies the objective paper.
Results of the turnaround change are apparent as the judiciary embraces fresh pattern for common law admission test (CLAT). While the change has received mixed response from the students and academia, the pattern is supposed to help in selecting students with a sharp skill sets.
Talking to CLEAREXAM, Vice-Chancellor, NALSAR University of Law (NALSAR), Hyderabad, Prof. (Dr.) Faizan Mustafa who also happens to be a Permanent Member of the Consortium of National Law Universities said: "They (the selected students) will be better equipped to read complex texts. Inferential testing will help us in selecting people with a good legal acumen." Elaborating further on the change, Prof. (Dr.) Mustafa said: "We are no more testing prior legal knowledge and static GK. We will give them paragraphs and ask questions based on them. Candidates should improve their reading abilities and must spend time current affairs with legal developments."
