Caught in a glitch

Sarthak Makkar

Common Law Admission Test that was held on March 13 is in the eye of a storm yet again this year due to technical glitches experienced by students. As many as 60,000 students took this test that was organised by the National University for Advanced Legal Research, Kochi this year. Students from centers across the country complained of issues like errors in computer systems during the examination that led to loss of precious minutes. According to students the computer screens went blank after questions appeared on the screen and as a result they lost as many as 15-20 minutes from their allotted 2 hours. At some other centers the interface was not smooth enough and it got stuck between answering one question and the next. Some students have even reported that clicking on the next button used to take them three questions forward. Long queues for biometric verification also added to their distress.

Apart from the technical mismanagement, some CLAT takers even complained of issues like unresponsive staff, lack of proper ventilation and even lack of pen and paper during the examination. Aggrieved over the negligent conduct of the organisers, petitions have been filed in Punjab and Haryana High Court, and Rajasthan High Court. Student Body Associations of NLSIU, NALSAR, NUJS have also issued a joint statement demanding accountability and reforms in the conduct of the exam and have demanded reversal to the pen & paper format. They have also supported the writ petition filed by Prof Shamnad Basheer in Supreme Court seeking the appointment of a permanent body to conduct CLAT every year. 

This year the CLAT committee, for the first time, experimented with Sify as the technical partner and introduced a new interface at the last moment, which is being considered as one of the major factors for the shoddy execution of the test. 

The answer key of the exam was released on May 15 and this, too, is reportedly having as many as nine errors and wrong answers. The amended answer key will be updated on May 26 and the result will be released on May 31.

The exam, this year has been rated a tad difficult than the previous years. Various coaching centers and experts have come up with their predicted cutoffs and ranks. CL- LST  has predicted the overall cutoff for top 3 National Law Universities at 124-125 marks whereas the CLAT Possible, another coaching center has expected the cutoff for top 5 NLUs in the range of 138+.