Amidst the tumultuous events surrounding the conduct of this year’s Common Law Admission Test (CLAT 2018), nine scholars of Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access (IDIA) have made it to various national law universities (NLUs).
IDIA scholars from across the country made it to seven different NLUs after their performance in CLAT 2018 and NLU Delhi’s entrance test, AILET.
Arpit Suman Gamit, from a small town in Gujarat made it to National Law University, Odisha. Arpit had dreamt of becoming a lawyer but he always thought it was an unattainable goal due to his weak financial situation. After the IDIA team in Gujarat conducted a sensitization programme, Arpit scored well on the aptitude test and was picked to train for CLAT 2018.
Prakash Kumar from Paliganj, Bihar also made it NLU Odisha. He was introduced to IDIA by former deputy team leader of the IDIA Bihar chapter Asutosh Kashyap, who was studying at Chanakya National Law University (CNLU).
Hailing from Bikaner, Rajasthan, Bhawani Singh Rajpurohit made it to NALSAR, Hyderabad with guidance from the IDIA Rajasthan Chapter. He recorded a perfect score in the Maths section in CLAT.
Kailash Ram from Jodhpur secured admission in National Law University, Delhi, having bagged the first rank in the Scheduled Caste category for AILET. He believes that armed with a law degree, he will be able to help those who have been denied their rights or have been discriminated against.
Mohd Najrul Islam, a student with total visual impairment from Silguri in West Bengal, also gained admission to NLU Delhi. Nazrul aspires to become a civil servant, with law as the perfect stepping stone to sharpen his intellect and shape his sense of justice.
Ruparam Nayak from Bikaner, Rajasthan secured admission in National Law University, Jodhpur. Ruparam found out about IDIA on his own and travelled all the way from Bikaner to Jodhpur to reach the IDIA Rajasthan chapter. Unable to afford a direct bus, Ruparam got down half way and walked 15 kms to get to NLU Jodhpur.
Sajal Jain from Madhya Pradesh made it to Tamil Nadu National Law School, Tiruchirappalli. Sajal persevered to make things better for his family and in a bid to secure a good education, he enrolled at National Law University, Odisha. However, due to a weak financial situation, coupled with poor health, he was forced to drop out of NLUO. Sajal has already gained significant headway in advocacy. He has even approached the Supreme Court to mandate National Law Universities implement the 5 per cent quota for Specially Abled Persons.
Another student from Madhya Pradesh, Sandeep Golani gained admission to Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University, Visakhapatnam. Sandeep overcame difficulties at home and battled depression to prepare for the law entrance, and ultimately got a seat at an NLU.
The daughter of a daily wage worker in Ernakulam district, Kerala, Sonia Sabu secured a seat at National Law Institute University, Bhopal. She received a pre matric scholarship from the State government, and went on to score 99 per cent in 11th standard, and 94.33 per cent in her 12th Kerala Board examinations.
Legal education does not come cheap! The cost of putting a kid through an NLU these days (inclusive of stipend and internship expenses etc) is Rs 2.5-3.5 lakhs per year. Making the overall cost of legal education anywhere between 12.5-17.5 lakhs for five years! Apart from NLS and NLU Delhi which provide complete fee waivers and other support etc to IDIA scholars, none of the other law schools do. NUJS provides partial support to one IDIA scholar a year.
In fact, many of the NLU’s harp about scholarships and the like, but very few actually provide meaningful financial assistance and fee waivers to those in need.
Unless these kids get funding from donors, it will be difficult to put them through law school. All details for contributions are available on this page:
For additional queries contact:
Prof (Dr.) Shamnad Basheer – shamnad@idialaw.com
Aditi Kamath – aditi@idialaw.com 9870338008