Tags:
Journalism of Courage
PUNE, MAY 23: Law colleges in the state will no longer be allowed to exceed the intake capacity of 1,600 students each from June this year, even as the state government has decided to do away with the October batches of the law degree course.
Accepting the recommendations made by a high-powered committee chaired by Director of Higher Education K P Sonawane, a Government Resolution (GR) was issued on April 28 which has decided to put on hold the number of admissions to law colleges from the academic year 1997-98.
The committee was appointed on November 13, 1996 towards systematising law education and included Sureshchandra Bhosale; Dean; Law faculty; University of Pune, P V Mehta; Dean at Bombay University; K A Advani; Principal; Government Law College; Mumbai, V T Chowgule; Dean at Shivaji University and R S Sundaram; Dean at Nagpur University among others.
The committee had finalised its recommendations and submitted its report to the state government in mid-February. Acting on the recommendations, the state government has now decided to admit not more than 320 students for each of the years in the five-year degree course. Hence with a sanctioned strength of 20 divisions in the colleges, each division would now be able to admit only 80 students.
The academic year should begin from June and law colleges should close down its October batch, the GR states. Moreover law colleges will now be required to conduct only one regular batch – either morning or evening ones, instead of holding both. To enhance the quality of law education, the state government has decided to phase-wise scrap the three-year LLB course.
However, since an amendment will have to be made in the Bar Council of India’s rules to scrap the three-year law degree course, the state government will allow its continuation. In an equally important decision, the state government has ruled that several arts, commerce and science colleges which have a law faculty, should, in due course of time, make it an independent college. Diploma courses will be run on a non-aided basis, the GR stated.
