Law Colleges Finally Admit Distance Students, but Insist on Affidavits

 Kurnool: Some colleges have started admitting students who passed LAWCET-2023, on condition that they sign affidavits acknowledging their responsibility for any enrollment problems after course completion.

These affidavits state that the students themselves will be responsible for any challenges in obtaining bar council registration.

This year, the admission process for law courses in the state faced hurdles after the entrance examination. Initially, many colleges declined to admit students who completed their basic qualifications through distance learning during the first round of counseling. During the second counseling, APSCHE laid down guidelines for admissions, leading to the exclusion of many students from the web option process.

Eventually, candidates who completed distance education and were allowed web options started approaching colleges. These are now admitting them on condition they sign affidavits.

Affidavit formats are not officially prescribed by Lawcet or APSCHE but are instead prepared by colleges at their discretion. The colleges are making it clear that they, along with Lawcet and APSCHE, bear no responsibility for any enrollment issue or other problems that graduates may encounter in future.

This situation has sparked a debate among professionals about the impact of distance education on the quality of legal education, with calls for stricter admission guidelines. On the other hand, students argue that the issue is not with distance education as such but with the varying standards of state-conducted entrance examinations. They suggest that if the entrance exam is easier, there could be a higher number of qualified candidates.

Advocate G Ramakrishna suggests that the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) could be a more effective alternative to state-conducted LAWCETs for admissions nationwide, ensuring higher education quality without restricting distance learning. He questions the rationale behind state CETs that admit students based on ranks but later refuse admissions to distance learners. He argues that intelligence is not exclusive to regular students and that distance learners should also be considered eligible for law courses.

Retired bank manager SV Mallikarjun commented on the quality and validity of certain courses, questioning why the state government hasn't ceased offering these programmes and issuing certificates if they are of low standard and lack validity. He pointed out that the state government should be held accountable for the current situation.