In Mumbai, LLB registration begins but colleges may not start classes by October

According to sources in the CET Cell, multiple reasons, including appointment of agency for online admissions, registration of colleges and their verification, have accounted for the delay

LAW COLLEGES may not be able to begin classes by October, though the registration process for aspirants of three-year and five-year LLB courses opened on Tuesday. “Students can only fill in their registration forms. The option forms will remain unavailable,” said an official from the Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell, which conducted the state’s first-ever entrance test for law admissions.

The move has left students in confusion about the admission process. “We were told that we would be able to mark our college preference during online registration but we don’t see that option now,” said Lekha Srigarla, an applicant from Nagaon.

She added that there was a lot of confusion among applicants regarding the selection process and if there will be any cut-off. While the results were declared on June 29, the exact number of seats available was still unknown and the merit list has been delayed at least by a month.

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Classes are now likely to begin by October, according to a notice on the website of Directorate of Higher Education.

The delay has not only left students in the lurch but exposed the unpreparedness of the state for the admission and the loopholes in law education. According to sources in the CET Cell, multiple reasons, including appointment of agency for online admissions, registration of colleges and their verification, have accounted for the delay.

The state had issued tenders for appointment of an agency in December last year to conduct the examination as well as admission. However, the lowest bidders needed at least 75 days to prepare the model for admissions.

Not left with many options, the contract for examination process was handed over to IBPS and that for admission to MKCL.

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Two court cases by applicants challenging the CET had added to the delay. The applicants had said they had not been given enough time to prepare for the entrance test and there was no clarity on the exam curriculum.

Read: MU website under maintenance, exam registration for 5th, 6th semester gets delayed

However, the Bombay High Court ruled in favour of the CET and the CET Cell held the first-ever online examination for law admissions. The results were declared on June 29. Thereafter, when the colleges were asked to register with the CET Cell, several anomalies were noticed with the colleges.

“The courses offered by the colleges have to be approved by the Bar Council of India,” said the official. Noticing that some colleges did not have the approval, the state then asked colleges to register themselves with the BCI on July 23 and 24.

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The BCI was supposed to submit a list of all colleges eligible for admission but has not done so yet.

According to latest reports, the BCI will send the list by August 6 and the seat count will be known. Students can then fill in their option forms, following which online allotment will commence. The delay in commencement of fresh batch will affect the academic calendar of the colleges.

A principal of a city-based law college had earlier told this newspaper that the colleges would not be able to hold exams on time and the syllabus will have to be covered within a short period.

On its part, the state plans to be better prepared for next year. “We will create a detailed guideline on what are the requirements for the examination and admission process. Thereafter, an agency competent enough to handle both will be employed,” said the official from the CET Cell.

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