Eight IDIA Scholars make it to first CLAT allotment list

As many as eight students trained by Increasing Diversity By Increasing Access (IDIA) have made it to the first allotment list of the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT)..Describing the profile of the successful candidates, Prof Shamnad Basheer, Founder and Managing Trustee of IDIA said in an e-mail,.“These scholars grew up amidst adverse poverty and yet demonstrated a wonderful resilience and optimism of spirit that saw them sail through CLAT and perform with aplomb. They hail from diverse backgrounds, and yet are united in their avowed aim to change society for the better through their shot at legal education.”.Among the eight are Rahul Suthar, a visually impaired student hailing from Jodhpur who has made it to the first list of West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS), Kolkata. The first year fees at NUJS is upwards of Rs. 2,60,000..Another visually impaired student, Pavan Kallem, has made it to NALSAR Hyderabad, where the first year fees is around Rs. 2,25,000..Four students from financially unsound backgrounds – Rishabh, Dharu Ram, Aritra Mondal and Javadhi Eshwar Rao– have made it to Gujarat National Law University (GNLU), Gandhinagar..Aritra lost his father, the only earning member of his family, a few years back when he was in Class XI, and had to temporarily suspend his studies in order to support his mother and younger sister. Javadhi is also a visually impaired student. His father has been suffering from paralysis for the last six years, rendering him incapable of employment, and his mother, the lone earning member of the family, works at a supermarket in Hyderabad..GNLU charges almost Rs. 2,10,000 as first year fees..Ragvendra Singh Khichi, from Jodhpur, scored an impressive 144.25 in CLAT, which is the highest score ever achieved by an IDIA trainee in the General category. He has made it to the first list at NLU Orissa, which charges around Rs. 1,80,000 for the first year. At age 17, he had to take on the responsibility of running the household when his father was bedridden..Sarath KP, a student from Kerala, has secured a seat at National University for Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS), Kochi. The first year fees at the NLU in Sarath’s home state is arounf Rs. 1,60,000..His father, who works at a toddy shop and is the sole earning member of the family, initially enrolled him at a private coaching institute, but soon found it impossible to afford the cost of the same. Sarath was then referred to the IDIA Kerala chapter by the Director of the coaching institute, and he has been training with IDIA Kerala ever since..Last year, five students had made it to various NLUs after the final list was published. This year, it is likely that more IDIA Scholars will make it as the next few allotments are published.