Serious Greivance regarding a decision changing pattern of law exams

As per a decision taken by the University of Mumbai, only the last year examinations of three year and five year law courses will be conducted and assessed by the University. This implies that from now onwards all exams conducted, except the last year’s, will be assessed by the college to which the student belongs. This decision has been questioned on several grounds. Certain important issues this decision has conveniently failed to address are-

1.   The question papers will be set by the University. However they will be assessed by the colleges. Here, there is a possibility of tempting the staff monetarily for personal gain. It is very disheartening that the University has conveniently neglected taking into account such illegal methods like monetary temptation to pass a course while making this decision. Or are they insinuating that such practices do not exist at all??

2.   Another relevant issue here is that law graduates get their Degree in two parts.  In case of a three year law course a student gets a General Law Degree after completing 2 years while in the case if a five year law course she/he gets the Law Degree after completing  4 years. This General Law Degree is used as a qualification in many sectors, including the banking sector. This current decision gives the colleges authority to grant any student this degree whether they are eligible or not.  The question that arises here is what the professional competence of such law graduates is who haven’t gone through a thorough assessment.

3.   Whenever the University conducts an examination, answer sheets are provided by them which consists of a barcode, question paper code etc. These details are detached from the answer sheets after the exams are conducted. Thus, the details of the examinees are not revealed to the assessor. With this new decision of colleges conducting exams, answer sheets will be provided by the colleges where the students are only required to write their roll number. An assessor can easily get access to the details of examinees which can lead to personal grudges, biases or favouritism. Is it fair to allow such factors to influence the process of assessment?

4.   In case a student is not satisfied with the assessment done by the University, he has the right to go for a re-evaluation. However, now, if a student is not satisfied with the assessment done by the college, what remedy will be available to him/her? The scope for re-evaluation would be restricted to college staff that had previously assessed the papers.

5.   The University has not been clear on what mechanism will be used to check whether the colleges are performing their assigned duties properly or not.

The appointment of Dr. Suhas Pednekar as Vice Chancellor had brought hope among the students. However, this decision seems to be a futile attempt to answer the criticism that the University and State CET Cell had faced regarding incompetency in dealing with admissions, declaration of results etc. It is obvious that the decision has been taken to reduce the burden on the University. In recent years, due to the incompetency of University of Mumbai, law students have faced many difficulties. It seems like a challenge to complete this course. The current decision has only added to our difficulties. It will result in ridiculing and questioning our abilities in the employment sector. LLB students seek internships from first year itself. Will legal firms and senior lawyers employ interns who aren’t being assessed properly?

It is high time that the students stop paying the price for the inability and incompetency of the University. It is expected that the Vice Chancellor and University Officials will think about the complications this decision has led to and will reconsider the decision.