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.
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